AFL Adelaide Tour

Day 1

The squad arrived at Sydney Airport for a 9.15am flight to Adelaide. At 2pm, we jumped on the buses and drove out to St Peter’s College for a training session on Caterer Oval. It’s a magnificent school with all their playing facilities onsite and the fields maintained at an exceptional level. The boys had a great session, wrapping up at around 5pm.

Mr G Tesoriero
MIC AFL

Day 2

We had a game against Prince Alfred College at 10am at Bundey’s Paddock, Park 9. The first-half ended strongly in favour of Prince Alfred, as they kicked 11 goals to our one, bringing the scoreline to 77-10. Prince Alfred continued their dominance, scoring another 13 goals in the second-half, with Mitch Dettman kicking two for the day along with Liam Brell with the full time score 160-16. Overall, the team put in extreme amounts of effort, but the skill of Prince Alfred outmatched Shore from start to finish. After the match, both teams had pizza for lunch on the oval, which was a great time to talk to the opponents, and Captain James Boyd was announced Best on Ground for the Shore side. After a quick lunch with Prince Alfred, we headed to Glenelg Beach. Some boys went to a nearby arcade, and some played mini golf, and then entire team went in for a swim in the freezing water to recover from the game. When we got back to the hotel, we had a short talk about the game before dinner at 6.30pm.

Joe Eggleton
(Year 10)

Day 3

We arrived St Peter’s College, Main Oval, to play our second match for the tour. The boys were eager to win this one after our loss against Prince Alfred College the previous day. When the whistle blew, the game was on, with Mitch Dettman kicking the first goal of the match for Shore after Saint Peter’s missed two. At the end of the first-quarter, we had a quiet lead of 20 to 9. For the second-quarter, we had goals from Liam Brell, two from Mitch Dettman and a final one from Tom Gray, going into half-time 45-24. In the third-quarter, the boys got complacent and allowed St Peter’s to dominate the ruck and kick four goals to take the lead 46-52 at half-time. After a talking to by the coaches, they asked us to find the fire in our bellies and come out hard, just like the first and second-quarters. And the boys managed to pull off just that. We came out hard in the fourth, with goals being kicked by Logan Crookshank, Jamie Gandhi, Mitch Dettman and Neo Pressley. With these goals and the amazing backline press, contested marks and a clutch holding the ball tackle from Rory Wenden from the backline to win the game, the team managed to pull it off with the final score being 71-65. After the game, the coaches gave out the Brownlow votes Jamie Gandhi (1 vote) Neo Pressley (2 votes) and Angus Marshall (3 votes). After the match, we took the buses to Glenelg Beach, and it was cold and windy. The boys got their board shorts on and went for what we can describe as a polar plunge. By this time, we took the buses back and got changed for the Adelaide Oval Tour, where we witnessed the old heritage listed scoreboard and walked out as opening batsmen for the Ashes Test to almost 45,000 people over a speaker.

Angus Marshall
(Year 11)

Day 4

The morning started bright and early as we began our walk to what would be an incredible reflective Dawn Service, remembering and honouring the sacrifices of those who served our country. The event was hosted at the SA National War Memorial, creating a sense of unity and respect among the thousands in attendance, which set a powerful tone for the rest of the day.

Next up was the Port Adelaide Captain’s Run at Adelaide Oval. Here, we met and watched the players as they went through their final training session before the match the next day against St Kilda. This was an amazing and inspiring experience for our team as we got a first-hand glimpse into the dedication and talent that is required at the professional level.

Following the Captain’s Run, we made our way down to the headquarters and training facilities of Port Adelaide, Alberton Oval. This was the highlight of the day as the team was invited on a detailed tour of the facilities, which delved into the rich heritage and legacy of the Port Adelaide Football Club. Whether it was the indoor field, basketball court, locker room, media space, or even the boot room, we saw what actually goes on behind the scenes of a football club. Alberton Oval serves as a living testament to the passion and pride of South Australian football.

Mitch Dettman
(Year 11)

Day 5

We began the day with our second match against St Peter’s playing on the Main Oval. We wanted to continue our strong developments as a team but struggled to contest as fatigue and a fresh St Peter’s lineup ended up being too much and resulted in a tough loss. Although defeated, we were able to apply many of these lessons and improve our skills. By the final-quarter we were able to finally get our rhythm and managed to win the fourth-quarter. That night we were invited by Port Adelaide to come and watch their game in the Sir Donald Bradman Stand vs St Kilda. The game was very close and was tightly contested from the beginning, with the lead changing between teams. Overall, the game was energetic with Port Adelaide winning and was a great bonding experience as a team and a learning experience.

James Gray
(Year 11)