2025 SANFL U16 Grand Final Preview and Teams

By PETER ARGENT

They have had two wins each in head-to-head clashes this season, and they were the top two teams at the end of the minor round, so it’s fitting Central District and West Adelaide are clashing in the SANFL U16 Grand Final.

The Bulldogs (12-5) edged out the Bloods (11-6) for the minor premiership, then beat them by 10 points in the second semi-final to gain direct entry to the premiership decider at Adelaide Oval. But the score was 6.8 to 3.16, so clearly it could have gone either way.

The Bulldogs are coached by former Eagles and North Adelaide player Todd Miles, who skippered the Roosters in the grand final at Football Park in 2013. He is still playing community football at Barossa District when he can fit it in, after leading the club to flags in 2016-17.

Central’s co-captains are Billy Nicholls – younger sibling of Fremantle 2024 draftee Charlie – and Hugo Semmler. Nicholls, along with Brayden Whimpress, Riley Nottle and Tate Howarth, give the Doggies multiple avenues to goal. Semmler, a strongly-built ruck from Gawler Central and South Australia’s MVP at the national under-16 championships, is a key for the Dogs.

He is comfortably leading hit-outs across the grade with 414 heading into the grand final. Noted for his strong follow-up work, Semmler is also averaging 21.5 possessions, along with six clearances a game.

Second-generation SANFL player Archie Faulkner is important to the structures on a wing, while Zach Quintel-Moyle and Riley Both give rebound from defence. Twins Luca and Tony Marrone are natural ballwinners, while Cooper Tamas brings strength to the contest.

“The second semi-final was a high-pressure match,” Miles said. “If we play our brand of team-oriented football and defend well as a team we give ourselves every chance. Levi Dudley, the brother of Fremantle’s Isaiah, gives us X-factor with his pace.”

Central won its most recent under-16 crown in 2023, when Dyson Sharp was skipper.

West Adelaide is coached by Jeff Sochacki, who moved to Hisense Stadium from North Adelaide. A deputy principal at Nazareth College, one of Sochacki’s pupils is SANFL U16 Best-and-Fairest medal winning ball magnet Laurence Andriani, who despite being tagged in the preliminary final, still racked up 31 possessions and kicked a goal.

Other Westies talents to keep an eye on include Percy Burgoyne, who has strong football heritage on mum and dad’s sides of the family, the classy Dean Hatedakis, X-factor player Sam DePalma and 14-year-old Hugo Williams, who has worked his way into the side since Round 12.

“Our captains this year are Harry Banks, from Riverland club Barmera-Monash, and Andrew Crispe, a metro lad from Goodwood Saints,” Sochacki said. “There is a list of 60-odd players in our squad and some face the tyranny of distance – the fact players have to travel up to three hours to get to fixtures has been an issue to deal with.

“The sides are evenly matched and we will be looking for our big men, Calvin Jones and Andrew Comakis, to curb the influence of Bulldogs giant Hugo Semmler.”

A likely closely-fought U16 grand final kicks off a huge day for Bloods coach Sochacki. His son, Jaylen, will be competing in the U18 title-decider that follows.

For the under-16 grand final team lists and preview grab this week’s Football Budget, available at Adelaide Oval.

Sunday September 14 | Adelaide Oval

Central District v West Adelaide | 9:20am | Live stream on SANFL Now

CENTRAL

F Riley Nottle, Brayden Whimpress, Logan Treverton

HF Tate Howarth, Levi Dudley, Billy Nicholls

C Archie Faulkner, Tony Marrone, Kobe Sweetman

HB Riley Both, William Chambers, Zachary Quintel-Moyle

B Riley Sieber, Tom Noack, Asher South

R Hugo Semmler, Benjamin White, Cooper Tamas

INT Archer Butler, Xavier Clark, Jackson Hughes, Luca Marrone, Lachlan McPhedran, Perry Sibbick

EMERG Salvatore Agostinelli, Lochlan De Bais, Denver Hyrhorec, Anthony Klitogiannis, Beau Wills

WEST

F Luke Kennedy, Noah Martinson, Andrew Comakis

HF Judd Norman, Hamish Hudson, Dillon Marks

C Dean Hatedakis, Chad Freund, Samuel Depalma

HB Hugo Williams, Ted Seager, Harry Banks

B Percy Burgoyne, Hugh Hazelton, William Mackie

R Calvin Jones, Laurence Andriani, Andrew Crispe

INT Hamish Abbott, Lincoln Baldwin, Harper Farquhar, Charlie Gurney, Jack Nickolls, Drew Sullivan, Harrison Taintey