JUNIOR COLTS

In 1958, South entered a side in the Salisbury, Elizabeth & Gawler District Colts Football League. Originally, an under 13 and under 17 age limit was placed upon a Junior Colts and Senior Colts programme, until 1960 when the two grades were combined into a single Colts competition. The SEGDCFL failed a year later with the advent of Central District Football Club, before the GDFL reprised this Colts grade in 1963 which ultimately lead to the modern Junior and Senior Colts football development of today.

In 1973, almost certainly as a result of the inception of the Gawler and District Mini League, there needed to be an interim footy competition between childhood and adolescence, so the GDFL Colts grades were split once again into Junior and Senior Colt distinctions. The Under 17 Senior Colts continued to open fixtures at Gawler Oval on Saturday mornings while the new Under 15 Junior Colts would play their regular seasons at Gawler High School on Sundays.

Still, many locals challenged that the jump from Mini League to Junior Colts was too big, so in the early 1980s a 'neutral' Under 13 combined team from Gawler was fielded in the CDFA - echoing the intentions of the SEGCFL in the late 1950s. Although it was quite a successful venture - virtually an association side for that age group, it never really caught on as the local club culture was just too entrenched in the community even at this age. Most kids' families had always held some affiliation with either South, Centrals or Willaston and the rivalries were already well and truly bred.

To counteract a perceived threat to the GDFL's junior development from an outside league, the Junior Colts qualification was altered to Under 14 in 1982, before returning to Under 15 in 1987 - after the Mini League was restructured to better suit modern thinking about developmental levels. Similarly, after the merger of the GDFL with the Barossa & Light in 1987, the junior colts age limit was regulated back to Under 14 again to align with the Barossa clubs' programmes.

Junior Colts footy at South today is the breeding-ground of potential champions - where many boys are identified much earlier than in the past by AFL scouts and Central Districts for accelerated programmes. Brodie Hudson and Alby Obst are two of our juniors who have lately made an impact down at Elizabeth Oval. Brodie recently made a brilliant league debut at a very young age, while Obst was selected for the South Australian Under 18 side and then most recently drafted in 2008 by North Melbourne after a year on the Adelaide Crows rookie list.

Sam Butler, after beginning as a Junior Colt with South, was recruited by Central District. Later, as a member of the AIS-AFL Academy, he represented South Australia at under-18 level before finishing his time at the Bulldogs in their 2003 Reserves premiership. Sam then became the West Coast's second pick with the 20th selection overall at the 2003 National AFL Draft. He debuted in Round 10 of 2004 - as a replacement for champion All-Australian Ben Cousins, averaging more than 14 possessions in nine successive matches and earning a National AFL Rising Star nomination for Round 17. In 2005, Sam became the first South son to play in an AFL Grand Final, and then an AFL premiership in 2006.

Both Sam and Alby look set to forge brilliant AFL careers, and are living proof of James Fitzgerald's first philosophical edict for this great club. South are very proud of them.

In 2008, the Junior Colts became the first Lions side to win a BLGFA premiership in our new gurnsey.