2025 was a big year at South Adelaide, and this wrap pulls together the highlights across every part of our club. You’ll find key results, participation milestones, pathway selections, event recaps, and the latest Marion Stadium update. Thanks for being part of our local community. We can’t wait to build again in 2026.
NBL1 season recap
2025 had many proud moments across both NBL1 programs. Catch all the highlights via our Youtube Channel
NBL1 Women
Our NBL1 Women finished 6th with eight wins and ten losses in one of the toughest seasons we’ve seen in years. Heading into the final minor round, the group was still in the hunt for finals.
We also marked two emotional farewells, with Ashleigh Spencer and Lauren Gibbons retiring at season’s end after incredible contributions to South Adelaide. On awards night, Keira Gardiner was named Club MVP, with Hannah Gardiner runner-up. In the Reserve Women, Amelia Richardson was MVP, with Grace Taylor runner-up.
NBL1 Men
Our NBL1 Men finished 4th with twelve wins and six losses, earning an elimination final spot against West Adelaide.
It ended in heartbreaking fashion, with the game decided at the line with 0.2 seconds remaining. Christian Brandon was named Club MVP, with Tom Kubank runner-up.
We also recognised some outstanding NBL1 Central milestones across the group this season.
Eltham Tournament wrap
South Adelaide had a record-breaking 43 teams represent our club at the 2025 Eltham Dandenong Junior Basketball Tournament over the January long weekend. Twenty-one teams reached the semifinals, twelve advanced to the finals, and seven teams won championships.
Championship teams included:
A Grade: U10G1, U10B1, U18B1
Additional champions (AR and B, C grades): U10B3, U12B5, U18B4, U10G2
State Junior Championships results
The 2025 State Junior Championships was another successful campaign for our Junior Program.
South Adelaide was proud to be recognised as:
Overall Reserve Club Champion and Reserve Male Champion for 2025. Team placings:
Boys State: U12 (3rd in pool), U14 (3rd), U16 (2nd), U18 (1st)
Boys Reserves: U12 (1st), U14 (1st), U16 (1st), U18 (1st)
Girls State: U12 (3rd in pool), U14 (4th), U16 (3rd), U18 (4th in pool)
Girls Reserves: U12 (4th in pool), U14 (1st), U16 (3rd), U18 (3rd in pool)
Melbourne Junior Classic recap
South Adelaide qualified five teams for the National Junior Classic in Melbourne over the June long weekend, hosted by Basketball Victoria.
Results:
U14 Boys (Div 1) 11th
U16 Boys (Div 1) 7th
U18 Boys (Div 1) 10th
U14 Girls (Div 1) 14th
U16 Girls (Div 1) 7th
U14 Australian Club Championships (Perth)
Our U14 Division 1 Boys earned qualification for the 2025 Australian Club Championships, hosted in Perth by the Willetton Basketball Association.
Team list: Vincent Humar, Max Bartlett, Ethan Natt, Jack Bondarenko, Darcy Fishpool (Co-Captain), Max Hildebrandt, Mason Pridham, Archie Darling, Lucas Wakelin (Co-Captain), Flynn Reid.
The group finished with an equal-best club record of 5th place, which is an outstanding result on the national stage.
State and High Performance selections (players and coaches)
South Adelaide continued to contribute strongly to state and high-performance programs in 2025, with players and coaches selected across major tournaments and squads.
East Coast Challenge 2025
U16 Girls: Leah McLean, Layla Scerri, Lottie Fahey
U18 Girls: Keira Gardiner
Southern Cross Challenge 2025
U14 Boys: Darcy Fishpool, Ethan Natt, Lucas Wakelin, Archie Darling, Mason Pridham, Vincent Humar
U14 Girls: Eden Sakkas, Millie Cakebread, Havana Boscence, Kloe Sweetman
U15 Boys: Edward Whitehouse, Kayden Brunner, Leo Clarke, Seth Penrose, Axl Britten
U15 Girls: Brooke Weatherald, Chloe George, Georgia Davidson, Georgie Thur, Sidney Fahey, Tamia Merrill
Southern Cross Coaches: Ben Gliddon, Danyle Pearce, Matt Fisher, Darren Martin, Andy Sakkas
District season wrap (JDL)
Our junior district program had a strong Championship season, with 14 teams reaching grand finals and 9 premierships.
Premiership teams: U10G1, U10B2, U12B3, U14B2, U14G3, U14B3, U14B5/6, U16G1, U16G2.
Runner-ups: U10B1, U12B2, U16B1, U16B2, U18B3. Club award winners:
Club Juniors of the Year: Addison Breeding and Koby Moir
Junior Coaches of the Year: Adam Nutter (U18B1) and Karl Thomas (U16G3)
Participation growth at South Adelaide
We’ve seen increased participation right across the club in 2025, especially in our junior space. That’s a great sign for basketball in our area, and it shows more kids are choosing to play, stay involved, and keep building their skills.
Across the wider SDJBL competition, numbers have continued to climb to 310+ teams. We’ve also seen strong growth in girls participation, including 26 South Adelaide girls teams and 37+ girls teams competition-wide, compared with around 35 girls total across the competition three years ago.
With that growth comes a real challenge too. Court availability remains tight across the state, which means scheduling, venue allocations, and waitlists are a reality we have to manage carefully. Our focus stays on keeping the experience positive for kids and clear for families, with good communication and well-run competitions.
South Domestic
South Domestic has continued to grow strongly, with our Summer competition reaching well over 92 teams. That growth matters because it means more kids and adults are playing locally each week, more divisions to suit different levels, and more opportunities for friends to jump in together.
It also increases the workload behind the scenes. More teams means more fixtures, more venues, more referees, and more team managers coordinating week to week. Our priorities here are simple and practical: We want domestic to be easy to be part of. Clear information, consistent scheduling, and a competition that feels welcoming and well organised for families.
If you’re new to domestic, it’s one of the best entry points to basketball at South Adelaide, and it’s often where kids build confidence before stepping into district pathways.
Mini Panthers
Mini Panthers continues to be one of the biggest and most important parts of our club. It’s designed for children aged 4–9 and focuses on the fundamentals in a fun, supportive environment. Sessions run during school terms, and each term is an eight-week program with 45-minute sessions that cover core movement, ball handling, passing, shooting basics, and learning how to play with others.
In 2025, Mini Panthers had 450+ children go through the program across the four school terms. We also expanded from one session per week to six sessions across the week, running across multiple venues. That tells us two things clearly. Families want this kind of entry-level program, and young kids are loving basketball when it’s delivered in the right way.
For parents, Mini Panthers is about more than skills. It’s confidence, coordination, listening, taking turns, and learning to be part of a group. It also helps children transition smoothly into domestic basketball when they’re ready, because they already understand the basics and feel comfortable on court.
South City Challenge recap
The South City Challenge has quickly become one of the best parts of our calendar because it gives teams a chance to play plenty of basketball in a short window, in an environment that still feels welcoming for families and grassroots clubs.
In 2025, the South City Challenge returned for its third straight year and was built around U10 to U16 boys and girls, along with grassroots domestic basketball. Across three big days, we hosted 103 teams, which was an increase of 15 teams compared with 2024.
What that growth really shows is simple. More teams want opportunities like this during the year, especially when it sits in the school holiday window and families can plan around it. It also gives players a chance to take what they’ve been working on at training and test it in real games, with plenty of minutes, quick turnarounds, and a strong tournament feel.
We’re proud of the way the event is building, and we’re committed to continuing to improve the experience each year, from scheduling and venues to keeping games moving and creating a positive environment for players, coaches, referees, and supporters.
We’re excited to confirm the South City Challenge will be back again in the July school holidays in 2026. More information, dates, and team entry details will be shared closer to the event.
Marion Stadium update
In September 2025, Council endorsed South Adelaide’s management submission, which was a major step forward.
The project is now in the tender stage, and once tendering is complete it will go to council members for a final vote in March 2026. Project design has been finalised.
If the March vote is successful, construction is expected to begin in early April. More info can be found here : Marion Matters
Sponsors and Club Business Partners
A huge thank you to the local businesses who backed South Adelaide in 2025. Your support helps us deliver better experiences for players and families across every part of our club, from grassroots programs through to district and NBL1.
We’re proud to work with partners who genuinely care about community sport, and we don’t take that support lightly. Thank you for helping us keep programs strong, keep opportunities open for kids, and keep building something our members can be proud of.
Thank you to our 2025 sponsors and partners:
Adelaide Wine Festival
Base Compression
Blackchrome
Carbon Group
Clarke Body Repairs
Commercial Hotel Strathalbyn
EFC Group
Elite Concrete Solutions
Elite Skiboats
Fisher Crash Repairs
Flix Productions
Friend Electrical Solutions
GP Skin
Green Tea House
Hive Support Services
Immer Kitchens
Magain Real Estate
Physio Sports and Performance
RD Jones Group
REDARC
Rewards Trophies
Rise Above Adversity
Rise and Immer
Sneaky Moe
The Moseley
Trenchless Pipelaying
True Function
Webb Spirits
Wright Evans Partners
WVB Accountants
To every sponsor, thank you again for a great 2025. We’re looking forward to building on this in 2026 and continuing to create opportunities for our players, coaches, referees, volunteers, and families right across South Adelaide.
Thank you to June McKenzie and Sonny Ogrodowski
We want to take a moment to recognise two people who have given so much of their time to South Adelaide.
After three years as President, June has stepped away from the role. June has led with care, clear thinking, and a genuine commitment to what matters most, creating a strong and welcoming club for our players, families, coaches, and volunteers. Her steady leadership has helped guide South Adelaide through a busy period of growth and change, and we’re very grateful for everything she has contributed.
We also want to thank Sonny, who has served as our Club Treasurer for the past eight years. Treasurer work is often unseen, but it is absolutely vital. Sonny’s consistency and commitment over a long period has helped keep the club stable, well managed, and able to keep investing in participation and development.
June and Sonny, thank you for what you’ve given our club. We really appreciate you.
What’s ahead in 2026
2026 is shaping as a big year for South Adelaide, and we’re focused on participation, development, and a great experience for players and families across every program.
A quick admin note for families: Championship season fees will be due in early January, and our registration email will come out on 5 January.
Thank you to our members and families
From all of us on staff and on the committee, thank you for being part of South Adelaide in 2025.
Whether you were in Mini Panthers for the first time, supporting your child through a big district season, helping as a coach or team manager, turning up each week to referee, or cheering on our NBL1 teams, you helped make this year what it was. Your support is what keeps our club strong and community focused.
We’ve seen great growth in participation, strong results across our programs, and some exciting progress on the Marion Stadium project. We’re proud of what our people achieved in 2025, and we’re even more excited about what’s coming next.
Enjoy the break, take a breath, and spend time with the people who matter most. We’ll see you in the new year, ready for a bigger 2026 and more great basketball moments at South Adelaide.
