Mallee Storm U18s create history in 2025

24 April 2025

By Alexandra Bull

For the first time in club history, the Mallee Districts Storm will field an U18s side in the River Murray Football League.

With the Mallee Football League folding in 2022, the Karoonda Football Club and Peake Football Club merged to form the Mallee Districts Storm, with the club unable to fill an U18s side until the 2025 season.

The Mallee Storm U18s played its first game against Tailem Bend at the start of April, with players from the U15.5s helping to fill the side for the season.

Inaugural Mallee Districts Storm U18s Captain Bronte Zadow said it was a “big privilege that we can come out here and play U18s every week.”

“Last year we didn’t have a team, which was a bit sad,” Zadow said.

“We still don’t have too many players, but it’s good to come out here and play a game and have a good hustle with these teams.”

Mallee Districts Sporting Club President Ryan Peach said “it’s been great” to get an U18s side together.

“We have been working for the last two years to get it up. If we didn’t have it, we would just lose these kids to other clubs, so it was a matter of we must have it,” Peach said.

“At a committee level, we knew that we had to have it but to get it this year has been unreal.

“I think they will be competitive against the lower teams as well.”

The River Murray Football League is doing great work in assisting clubs who have lower junior numbers, making it as easy as possible for both players and parents involved in other clubs that may not have a game on a particular weekend to fill in for a week for other clubs.

SANFL Football Operations Coordinator – Riverland, Murraylands Hills and Murray Valley Football Netball League Shane Uren, said “junior football teams are vitally important for community football clubs”.

“The immediate impact of losing volunteers, as the parents and guardians are no longer are no longer coming to the games to watch, then volunteer in areas of running the club, results in stretching resources of those that are there each week, creating ‘burnout’.

“There is the importance of the social impact for both the children that live in the area not having a team to play in, but also the families of these kids – if they don’t have a direct link to a team to go watch, they may not go at all.

“This is where the Mallee Districts Football Netball Club has really shone the last two seasons, identifying the need for an U18 team, and staying in contact with those that may have gone to play elsewhere and the younger ones coming up to make the 2025 U18s team possible.

“Mallee Storm have a lot of dedication to the cause.”