After 287 days, the SANFL Women’s season finally begins

It was a pre-season that at times thought would never end, but finally Norwood’s SANFL Women’s side will take to the field for Round 1 this Saturday afternoon against South Adelaide.

It has been all of 287 days between games for the Redlegs, since they walked off the field at X Convenience Oval for Round 14, on July 5 last year, to this Saturday, April 18 at Magain Stadium in Noarlunga. But, the training is over, trial games are in the books, and it’s time for the real stuff.

A new coach in Ben Hunt and a new captain in back-to-back Best and Fairest Jade Halfpenny, it’s certainly a new chapter at the Redlegs, and they are ready to get into it.

“It seems like its been a long pre-season, we’ve done plenty of match sim and a few trials, so we are excited to get into Round 1,” Hunt said via The Redlegs Review Podcast this week. Listen to the full interview here.

“There’s nothing better than playing the reigning premiers and see where we’re at.

“(287 days between games), that’s crazy, but we’re ready and really excited for Round 1, it’s a special time of year.”

The extended break between games is due to the League pushing the start of the SANFL Women’s season back from March to April, to better line up the Men’s and Women’s seasons.

Hunt, the first Central District SANFL Women’s Premiership coach, is now in charge of the Redlegs. A lifelong Norwood fan himself, Hunt said he was filled with pride to officially represent the club.

“I am loving it, I love being at Norwood, I’ve tweaked a few things from my time at Centrals and I feel we have a great program going,” he said.

“I feel like there’s a bit of pressure, but it’s about the process, and as a group we are working hard towards how we want to go about our footy and that’s the exciting part.

“We have a great playing group, great staff, in our program and across the club. I’m pumped to see where we are at come Saturday.”

Norwood’s Senior Women’s side has a happy knack of playing against the reigning premiers in Round 1, now for the fifth year in a row.

“It’s a massive test, I myself have never coached a winning team at Noarlunga, so I’m hoping to tick that box on Saturday,” Hunt said.

Hunt had been impressed with the talent of the young Norwood squad, and the way that they had applied themselves over the long summer.

“We have a great group, the group is so balanced, they have been jelling really well, with a focus of ‘team first’. I’m excited to see how it goes,” he said.

“The likes of Elke Cameron has been sensational, really stepped up at training, she’s been a standout.

“We’ve had Amy Gaedtke (from Centrals), Ash Baker (WWT) and Abby Klaebe (Payneham NU) join the squad and they’ve trained well.

“The likes of Isabella Calvanese who was predominantly a Dev League player last year, has really stepped up, and Jade Halfpenny, Nicola Burns and Emma Clark who have been such consistent performers for us over the journey.”

Norwood won four matches in 2025, after making a grand final against South Adelaide in 2024.

“We have worked hard over the off-season to see improvement, we want to be in the fight across all four quarters every week,” Hunt said.

“I want to see the side play to our structures, play our way, be really hard to play against, and be in the fight the whole game.”

The Redlegs have announced four debutants for Saturday’s Round 1 game against South, including Amalie Innes, Gaedtke and Baker playing their first games for Norwood, while Isabella Calvanese will be making her SANFLW debut.

Listen to the full interview via the link below.