You ‘Butey’: first win for Roosters in Adelaide Plains FL

It’s been a good outcome for the Adelaide Plains Football League which demonstrated great agility in this season like no other, as we continue to look at how the season has started for Community Football leagues across the State, thanks to Think! Road Safety.

By Nick Dillon

While it has been a battle for most clubs and leagues to pull things together for this Covid-affected season, spare a thought for the Bute Football Club.

A long-time member of the Yorke Peninsula Football League, Bute was left with nowhere to go when the YPFL decided not to go ahead in 2020.

However, after a lot of hard work, the Roosters were admitted to the Adelaide Plains Football League for this season.

The willingness and flexibility of the APFL to allow Bute into their league must also be commended, particularly given they had lost two of their own clubs – last season’s premier Hummocks-Watchmen and Balaklava.

The APFL was also willing to include a bye in the fixture to accommodate Bute.

The Roosters played their first game during the APFL’s round two last Saturday and came away with a 17-point win over United.

Bute Football Club Football Coordinator Scott Brown was relieved as much as pleased with the result.

“It was competitive and good for the club to get a win, particularly as it didn’t look like we’d have a season at all,” he said.

“It was challenging to know exactly where we do sit in this league.

“The standard was really good and some of our boys went over and watched the first round and said it was quite comparable to the YP.”

Logistically, Bute is almost better off in the APFL, with a longest trip of 104km to Angle Vale compared to 158km to Yorketown for matches.

“It’s probably a little bit better for us heading down to clubs like Angle Vale,” Brown said.

“We’ve got our crew based in Adelaide so playing in this league is better for them.”

Despite all of that, it is unlikely Bute will remain in the APFL when things return to normality beyond 2020.

“We’re pretty certain we’ll go back to the YPFL,” Brown said.

“Our footballers were keen on getting a game so we did everything we could as a club to guarantee that for them.

“It was very much player-driven.”

Two Wells currently sits atop the APFL ladder after two big wins over Angle Vale and Mallala in the opening rounds.

Matt Camplin kicked seven goals for the Roosters in round one’s dominant 116-point triumph over Angle Vale.

Mallala wasted chances against Two Wells in round two, with the Roosters winning by 65 points.

Virginia and Bute have a 100 per cent record, albeit from just one match with both having the bye in the first two rounds.

Bute’s 17-point victory over United in round two was led by Jack Dalgliesh and Sam Taylor, while Mark Pym also celebrated his 350th senior game in the B grade for United.

Virginia had a 40-point triumph over Hamley Bridge in round one and now meet Bute in Round 3 after the rest.

ROUND 1

Virginia 16.14 (106) d Hamley Bridge 9.12 (66).

BEST: Virginia – B. Russell, T. Milera, M. Rankine, B. Niklaus, D. Jessen, V. Davey. Hamley Bridge – Z. McCabe, J. Sale, T. Drew, A. Judd, C. Robinson, J. Bezzina.

GOALS: Virginia – B. Niklaus 6, R. Rankine Jr 4, J. Warrior, M. Rankine 3. Hamley Bridge – A. Hudson 3, A. Judd 2, C. Webster, C. Dwyer, S. Collings, J. Whitelum.

Mallala 10.6 (66) d United 8.6 (54).

BEST: Mallala – D. Vanzini, J. Seal, T. Maughan, J. Birchmore, R. Montgomery, J. Tiller. United – A. Beard, S. Robertson, T. Hocking, R. Sharer, B. Warner, H. Pym.

GOALS: Mallala – B. Montgomery 3, D. Vanzini 2, S. Angus, C. Evans, T. Algar, W. Paynter, B. Wilson. United – J. Potts 3, T. Hocking, B. Warner, V. Thach, H. Pym, B. Sharman.

Two Wells 26.14 (170) d Angle Vale 8.6 (54).

BEST: Two Wells – C. Edmead, J. Thomson, L. Barnett, B. Hart, S. Slattery, M. Camplin. Angle Vale – S. Blundell, R. Kovacic, B. Steen, L. Mitchell, N. Stokes, A. Clifton.

GOALS: Two Wells – M. Camplin 7, C. Edmead 5, N. Seccafien, M. Abdilla 4, L. Barnett, S. Slattery 2, B. Hart, W. Hart. Angle Vale – J. Rathmann 3, M. Paul, R. Kovacic 2, N. Stokes.

ROUND 2

Angle Vale 8.18 (66) d Hamley Bridge 7.13 (55).

BEST: Angle Vale – R. Kovacic, S. Blundell, L. Mitchell, T. Harris, N. Stokes, T. Tattoli. Hamley Bridge – C. Robinson, J. Kain, C. Buckby, C. Webster, S. Toholke, B. Marshall.

GOALS: Angle Vale – R. Kovacic 4, J. Rathmann, K. Cullen, B. Woodward, T. Tattoli. Hamley Bridge – H. Bubner 2, B. Hook 2, A. Judd, J. Whitelum, C. Buckby.

Bute 9.15 (69) d United 7.10 (52).

BEST: Bute – J. Dalgleish, S. Taylor, T. Sullivan, J. Wilkins, N. Hewett, S. Trengove. United – J. Carey, T. Hocking, E. Pepe, L. Ryan, R. Sharer, T. Beard.

GOALS: Bute – S. Taylor, H. Trenorden 2, A. Cheer, J. Wilkins, L. McCauley, F. Douglass, J. Dalgleish. United – J. Potts 3, T. Beard 2, V. Thach, H. Pym.

Two Wells 15.5 (95) d Mallala 3.12 (30).

BEST: Two Wells – L. Barnett, C. Edmead, J. Humphrys, N. Barnett, B. Hart, J. Thomson. Mallala – R. Montgomery, W. Paynter, T. Maughan, Z. Eckermann, J. Seal, S. Angus.

GOALS: Two Wells – N. Seccafien, L. Barnett 4, C. Edmead 3, M. Abdilla, M. Knox, T. Leighton, B. Hart. Mallala – B. Montgomery 2, S. Angus.

Rd 3

July 25 – Angle Vale v Mallala; United v Two Wells; Virginia v Bute.

Rd 4

Aug 1 – Bute v Two Wells; Hamley Bridge v Mallala; Virginia v United.

Rd 5

Aug 8 – Bute v Hamley Bridge; United v Angle Vale; Mallala v Virgnia.

Rd 6

Aug 15 – Angle Vale v Bute; Hamley Bridge v United; Virginia v Two Wells.

Rd 7

Aug 22 – Angle Vale v Virginia; Mallala v Bute; Two Wells v Hamley Bridge.

Rd 8

Aug 29 – Bute v Angle Vale; United v Mallala; Virginia v Hamley Bridge.

Rd 9

Sep 5 – United v Bute; Two Wells v Mallala.

Rd 10

Sep 12 – Hamley Bridge v Angle Vale; Two Wells v Virginia.