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| 16 Sep 2025 | |
| Written by Ben McGill | |
| SPOC Sport |
| Football |
The 2025 season has unfolded as an uplifting chapter for SPOC FC, marked by strong performances across multiple grades, an inspiring women’s debut, and strengthening ties with the Saints school community.
Men’s Grades — A, B and C grades Impress
2025 was a great year for all 3 of the mens grades, delivering significantly stronger improvements over the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The off-field recruiting, supported by excellent retention of players from the 2024 season, allowed the club to start the season in a very competitive manner, leading to;
This competitive depth has paid dividends: both A-Grade and B-Grade played in two finals each – a huge improvement from the 2023 and 2024 seasons where the club avoided relegation to Division 2 in the last round by the smallest of margins. Moreover, a considerable number of players from all 3 mens grades received votes in the Adelaide Footy League, highlighting strong individual recognition alongside team success.
WOSA Makes Finals in Their Inaugural Season
One of the season’s most remarkable stories has been the debut of WOSA (Wilderness Old Scholars Association), who joined the Women's Adelaide Footy League in 2025 through an alliance with SPOC FC. In their first year of playing, they defied expectations—making finals. This is a significant achievement for a brand-new team and speaks to strong groundwork, recruitment, and club culture. By every measure it was a very successful year and we’re looking forward to WOSA’s team playing on in the 2026 season.
Launch of the Indigenous Guernsey
In another first for the club, we launched a new Indigenous Guernsey that tells the story of our club, our community, and the journey we share together, from old scholar and current player Tye Bedford’s perspective. The full story behind the design is available on the club’s social media pages with the key messages including;
On the front of the guernsey, the footprints symbolise all of our players coming from different walks of life. Each has their own path, but together they meet and join as one in their teams.
Surrounding the centre, the four semi-circles represent the club’s four teams, all gathering together around the white circle, representing the Caterer, and the white dot in the centre, which depicts a campfire – a traditional place of connection, sharing, and belonging. This shows the spirit of SPOC FC: four teams, but one family, united around the same fire.
We incredibly grateful that Tye took ownership of creating this new guernsey and the players have embraced it with pride and are looking forward to playing in it each year, in an ingigenous round.
Season Highlights and Community Engagement
Off-field, SPOC FC continues to foster strong community involvement. Noteworthy moments include a huge day at the Showdown Lunch, featuring the CEO’s of Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide, which led to a fantastic fund-raising result for the club. We also had a record attendance at the 2025 Ladies Day, and the club’s moving ANZAC Service held on April 26—led by notable figures including old scholar Peter Moore and honoring the club’s connection with those members of the school community who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War 1 and 2.
The 2025 season had over 20 ‘school leavers’ join the club, providing both a great level of energy and enthusiasm and depth of numbers that’s required to field competitive teams through the season. We’re very hopeful that in 2026 we’ll see similar numbers of school leavers join the club again, as the future of the club lies in the annual rejuvenation of new players, primarily from the school community.
The club also organised “quad-header” match days (May 10, May 24, and June 16), where all four teams—A, B, C and WOSA—played at home the same afternoon. These events have become vibrant highlights, drawing increased crowd numbers and energising the SPOC FC community.
Final reflection
A-Grade and B-Grade: Both strong finals contenders, each having playing two finals and featuring numerous players in all 3 grades earning votes in the Adelaide Footy League medal count.
WOSA: has a standout debut season, reaching finals and introducing 46 players to football with SPOC FC.
Indigenous Guernsey: Launched this season and designed by old scholar and current player Tye Bedford, symbolizing a beautiful connection between the club and indigenous history, pride and family
Community Momentum: Growing attendance at events like Ladies Day, quad-header fixtures, and ANZAC commemorations reflect deeper community engagement.
Strengthening school ties: The 2025 season saw over 20 ‘school leavers’ join the club and we’re hopeful that in 2026 we’ll see similar numbers again, as the future of the club lies in the annual rejuvenation of new players, primarily from the school.
In closing, SPOC FC’s 2025 campaign has been defined by on-field success across both men’s and women’s football, cultural milestones, and strengthening community and school ties. The club’s depth and inclusive strategy—particularly the launch and success of WOSA—set a promising tone for seasons ahead.
A heartfelt thank you to our amazing supporters and community, including our incredibly hard-working committee, parents and family, sponsors, members, volunteers, players, coaches and physio’s and trainers umpires for your unwavering support and dedication all year long. .