Dads and Daughters in National Pharmacies SANFL Juniors Finals

By PETER ARGENT

The next generation of South Australia’s female footballers has certainly arrived.

Across the breadth of Adelaide, a number of daughters are following in their fathers’ footsteps and are looking to carve out careers as elite players.

As the National Pharmacies SANFL Juniors finals start this weekend, a number of clubs will be striving for the ultimate glory, a premiership.

Former West Adelaide Blood Simon Munn is coaching the Marion Rams Under 13s girls in a qualifying final of the Division II competition against the Hectorville Hounds on home soil, starting at 12.30pm on Sunday.

His side includes his daughter, Rosie, along with Tim Weatherarld’s twins Elle and Brooke. This trio are amongst five Marion Rams, along with Emily Martin and Georgia Davison who will back up after playing in the SAPSASA National Under 13s Schoolgirls Championships this week, looking to win their way into a second semi-final berth.

In his playing days “Munny” (Simon Munn), was a strong bodied on-baller with West while playing 120 SANFL League games between 2000-2010.

He also played country football in SA, firstly with the Strathalbyn and then in the city with the Unley Jets.

Munn returned to coach the Roosters in the Grand Southern League in 2022, along with his commitments at the Rams.

Weatherald was a Sturt premiership player in 2002, sharing the Magarey Medal that year with Jade Sheedy.

He played a total of 311 league games, 253 for the Double Blues and a further 58 at Norwood in a career that spanned 16 years from 1995.

He successfully coached the SANFL Under 18s girls to an undefeated campaign in 2022, whilst being selected as the All-Australian coach in that campaign.

There are actually six father-daughter combinations in this year’s SAPSASA Under 13 State team.

Along with the Munns, and the Weatheralds there is South Adelaide footballer and Norwood premiership player/coach Ben Warren and his daughter Emmerson, who plays with the Plympton Bulldogs.

After 163 games, including captaincy of the Panthers, and following a flag with his junior club Langhorne Creek, Warren returned to the SANFL playing with the Redlegs under Nathan Bassett.

He played a key role up forward in the 2012 and 2013 flags, along with becoming a 200-game SANFL Player Life Member.

He took over from Bassett and coached Norwood to a third successive flag in 2014, defeating Port Adelaide in a heart-stopper by four points.

Former Norwood and Glenelg footballer Richard Kelly has his youngest, Millie in the SAPSASA team while she also plays with Glenunga in SANFL Juniors.

Millie’s older brother Jim Kelly, between college commitments, plays with Norwood and was a member of the SA Under-16 program this year.

An SA Under-18 representative in 2002, and league footballer with Port Adelaide, Matthew Gates is proudly watching his daughter Airlie Gates, who plays with SMOSH West Lakes.

There’s also an ever growing list of father/daughter SANFLW footballers each year.

At the Modbury Hawks is Laela Ebert, who also played with the North Adelaide Roosters in the Hostplus SANFL Women’s League this season.

Laela’s younger sister Nevaeh Ebert is playing in the Under 15s for the Hawks.

Their father Daniel played 108 games for the Roosters between 1998 and 2008.

The Hawks’ Under 17s girls team take on Glenunga, which includes Weatherald’s two older daughters, Katie and Sophie.

Also at Glenunga is Evie Nelson, the daughter of Weatherald’s 2002 Double Blues flag-winning teammate, Ben Nelson.

Ben is the son of the legendary SA Football Hall of Famer Philip “Sandy” Nelson, who played 244 games as a key defender for Sturt, including seven flags between 1965 and 1977.

The National Pharmacies Finals Series for all divisions from under-12s to under 17.5s boys and girls kicks off this Sunday at community club venues.

In a first for National Pharmacies SANFL Juniors, SANFL is pleased to announce that every Preliminary and Grand Final match this year will be live streamed nationally on The Advertiser’s streaming platform, KommunityTV.

While Preliminary Finals, played from August 20, will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV for Advertiser subscribers, Grand Final matches will be streamed on both KommunityTV and SANFL’s streaming platform, SANFL Now.

All 38 Grand Finals will be played at various SANFL venues on August 27 and September 3.