Adam’s found his Hartlett at Westies

By ZAC MILBANK

West Adelaide fan favourite Adam Hartlett will strengthen his tie to his beloved Bloods after being appointed as the club’s 27th League coach.

The 2015 premiership defender is eager to reinstall the standards which earned Westies the ultimate success seven years ago.

Speaking on SANFL Radio, the 36-year-old’s passion to educate and extract the best out of the Bloods’ youthful playing list was very evident.

Starting his coaching journey with the Imperials Football Club in Mildura, as a playing coach, Hartlett began laying a strong foundation for three years with ”The Imps.”

The former Carlton forward then returned back to Adelaide in 2020 to work under Glenelg premiership coach Mark Stone at Brighton Road.

Despite it only being a brief stay with the Tigers, Hartlett paid tribute to Stone and Head of Football Paul Sandercock for providing him with the knowledge required to run a successful SANFL program.

Studying his Level 3 Coaching Certificate, Hartlett has continued to progress at Milner Road in the past two seasons, firstly as backline coach (2021) and midfield/lead assistant (2022).

Having the opportunity to effectively steer the wheel for the final stages of 2022 under coach Brad Gotch also played a major role in ”empowering” Hartlett, him taking charge in the coaches box coinciding with the Bloods’ spirited end-of-season form surge.

Keen to retain assistants Ryan Anderson and Shane Baldock, Hartlett will begin conversations to fill out the remainder of his coaching panel.

He is hopeful veteran pair Tom Keough and Jono Beech – both 2015 premiership teammates – will continue in 2023, having already lost the experience of 2022 Neil Kerley Medallist Hamish Hartlett and SANFL 200 Club retiree Logan Hill