Norwood Announce Women’s Head Coach

The Norwood Football Club is pleased to announce Brad Ferrall as its new Women’s Head Coach for season 2024.

Ferrall held an assistant coach position within the club’s SANFLW program in 2023, and steps into the head coaching role off the back of more than six years experience in coaching and managing women’s football programs at local and SANFL level.

Ferrall (the husband of retiring Norwood SANFLW Captain Alison Ferrall) came to Norwood for the 2023 season following five seasons with the Morphettville Park Football Club, which has proven to be a powerhouse female football club across local SA competition.

He coached two Women’s Premiership teams for Morphettville Park (B Grade 2019 and A Grade 2021), and was the Opposition Analysis Coach for Norwood in 2023.

“I am excited,” Ferrall said.

“Norwood is one of the clubs that I grew up loving so to have the opportunity to be a head coach here is an experience I am looking forward to.

“Being a head coach is something I have always aspired to do, I learnt a lot from being in Brad Snell’s SANFLW program this year and I am ready to step up and take it all on board.”

His new side is hoping to build on a strong 2023 season across its Women’s program under outgoing coach Brad Snell which saw the SANFLW side make a Preliminary Final and Development League team a Grand Final.

“This year (2023 season) we finished one game earlier than we would have liked (losing the Preliminary Final to eventual Premier Central District), but we have a young group that’s developing,” he said.

“We would have one of the more inexperienced teams across the competition so to make a Prelim is a good effort – we are building and we need to keep building on the success of last season and continue playing to our strengths.

“We had a great coaching group last season as well, and I hope most of them can stay on. I want to keep building on those relationships and continue on the program that ‘Snelly’ has set up – he did an amazing job.”

Snell informed the club earlier this month that he would not continue in the Head Coach role.

Ferrall said he had seen incredible growth in women’s football across his six-season involvement.

“The players are so willing to learn, they take everything on board,” he said.

“I have seen so much growth across the women’s game – the fact that we are now not just focussing on the football basics is great, their game knowledge, skills and the game quality is growing every season.

“Our Round 1 match against North Adelaide was one of the best games I have ever seen, highly skilled, highly pressured and free flowing. It showed how far the sport has come.”

Norwood Football Club CEO James Fantasia welcomed Brad into the role.

“We would like to congratulate Brad on his success in this role,” he said.

“It is great that he has the opportunity to coach at this level.

“Brad comes into the head role as a well experienced coach and we look forward to seeing him further develop and grow our women’s program.”