Everything you need to know about the 2023 Southern Football League (SFL) season
The new Southern Football League (SFL) season is finally here and we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know. Check out our team-by-team preview with all the ins and outs, and coaches’ views.
What an exciting season of Southern Football League awaits players, officials and supporters.
It all kicks off on Good Friday with a triple header as the race to the premiership begins with the clash between Dodges Ferry and Brighton set to be live streamed on the Mercury website.
Here’s everything you need to know about every club ahead of the new season.
Brighton
Coach: Paul Kennedy
Captain: Sam Lewis-Johnson
Last year’s finish: Sixth
2022 best-and-fairest: Darcy Gardner
Key ins: Caleb Triffett, Chris McKnight, Cody Morgan, Fletcher Salter, Harry Burgess, Harry Gardner
Key outs: Ryan Backhouse, Jack Clark
Coach’s comments: “The commitment and workrate over the pre-season has been first rate, which has allowed us to make good progress from both game plan and strength and conditioning standpoints. Almost our entire senior squad is aged 16-23, so there is potential for another year of big improvement like last season. We were really competitive against all the finals teams in 2022, now our challenge is to be more consistent across four quarters to win more of those games and play finals ourselves for the first time in eight years.”
Claremont
Coach: Nathan Brown
Captain: Marty Allison
Last year’s finish: 8th
2022 best-and-fairest: Marty Allison
Key ins: Kobey Phillips (Hobart), Dylan Huxley (Hobart), Keren Howlett (Clarence), Dylan Howlett (Clarence), Jye Bearman (New Norfolk)
Key outs: Jake Williams (Kingborough Tigers)
Coach’s comments: “We started pre-season in early November after adding a few handy recruits and numbers have been up and down but the vibe around the club is fantastic. We are still in the rebuild stage but aiming for more on field success building towards our 100 year-anniversary in 2024.”
Cygnet
Coach: Thor Boscott
Captain: To be announced
Last year’s finish: Second
2022 best-and-fairest: Joseph Direen
Key ins: Will Cleeland (Currie - King Island Football Association), Tex Simpson (Wilston Grange Gorillas – QAFL), Liam Evans (Yarra Glen), Mitch Lister (out of retirement), Corey Polley (injury), Joshua Doyle (out of retirement)
Key outs: Ben Graham (New Zealand), Brody Penney (retired), Jacob Brereton (retired), James Webb (Kingborough Tigers), James Zeitzen (Kingborough Tigers), Murray Bastick (Kingborough Tigers), Reece Scotland (Kingborough Tigers), Jedd Behrens (University), Joel Poke (South Australia)
Coach’s comments: “Summer gave us the chance for some time off and after a good break, we are back again for the challenge ahead. Despite failing in the grand final, 2022 can be seen as a successful season with the club in a good position with a pathway forward for our young talent and this year will see more youth entering senior football. Cygnet has now featured in the last three SFL grand finals. There has been a great buy-in from our new and old players and we are excited to see what Tex Simpson and Will Cleeland will bring to our club. Cygnet will again field a very young side which is no change to previous seasons. We aspire to feature in the finals again in 2023.”
Dodges Ferry
Coaches: Robbie McManus and David Hunt
Captain: Campbell Hooker
Last year’s finish: Fourth
2022 best-and-fairest: Jack Siggins
Key ins: Robbie McManus (East Coast Swans), Adrian Tatnell Cowen (Huonville Lions), Brad Joseph (Hobart), Mark Cusick (year off), Corey Laoumtzis (Hobart/Lauderdale), Jessie O’Neal (work), Tom Bryan (Lauderdale), Billy Triffett (Lauderdale), Finn Haley (Lauderdale), Jimmy Collins (Melbourne), Jamie Booth (injury), Emmett McShane (injury), Tim Daff (injury), Luke Hlis Gusomond (year off).
Key outs: Jack Dolliver (Devils/Clarence), Oscar Dodge (Cairns), Riley Hooker (Broadbeach), Dan Lewis (concussion), Lachie Edwards (Melbourne)
Club’s comments: “Over the off season the club was very fortunate to land Robbie McManus as playing coach his training standards have been elite while working on a brand that can have the Sharks pushing for a top-three spot. We are excited by the improvement of the young talent coming thru to help our experienced core group.”
Huonville Lions
Coach: Nick Doyle
Co-captains: Cameron Johns and Rhys Ward
Last year’s finish: Third
2022 best-and-fairest: Brady Jones
Key ins: Daniel Archer (West Coburg), Jackson Keogh (Kingborough Tigers), Brodie Rundell (year off), Callum Rawson (year off), Jack Howarth (year off)
Key outs: Cal Sutcliffe (Cairns)
Coach’s comments: “The pre-season has focused heavily on our conditioning, in an attempt to both better prepare our players for the full season ahead and also to aid in injury prevention. New recruits Daniel Archer and Jackson Keogh will add further class to our forward line and midfield. With improved depth through the addition of new and returning players, while maintaining the list and finding growth within players from previous seasons, our motivation is higher than ever. Time will tell where that places us in the competition overall.”
Lindisfarne
Coach: Trey Westbury
Captain: Josh Green
Last year’s finish: Premier
2022 best-and-fairest: Jack Gleeson
Key ins: Lewis Freeman (year off), Blake Lamprell (year off), Dylan Lamprell (year off), Darwin Lashmar (year off), James Heawood (year off), Max Kelly (Hillwood), Ryan Stocks (Hobart)
Key outs: Michael Cassidy (retired), Jake Briggs (retired), Theo Jaynes (travel), Jack Gleeson (lifetime ban), Sam Adams (time off), Nicholas Raglione (work commitments), Angus O’Meara (moved interstate).
Coach’s comments: “The longer off-season and departure of (former coach Michael) Cassidy in early January has meant we started later than expected. This worked out fine as the boys came back fresh and eager to get into 2023. The group is certainly younger than last season and although we see some well renowned names leaving, the door has opened wider for some exciting young talent the club is ready to showcase. A big focus on pre-season has been for the team’s game style to be predictable to each other. Player roles have been tweaked and become very clear, as this season is going to require 22 role players on game day to get the job done. There is no secret that we will be facing new challenges this season but we still have our eyes set on going all the way. The club is in a great place on and off the field, especially with the men‘s and women’s teams combining on a more regular basis. Also, a large focus has been in place to continue to support our juniors and continue to uphold the wonderful family friendly club that Lindisfarne is.”
NEW NORFOLK
Coach: Matthew Smith
Captain: Josh Farrow
2022 best-and-fairest: Josh Clifford
Last year’s finish: 9th
Key ins: Nil
Key outs: Cody Morgan, Caleb Triffett (Brighton)
Coach’s comments: “After a disappointing season last year, I have returned to the club with a three-year plan to return the club to being consistent finals contenders. We have a good group of young players who will develop but need to improve their skill levels. The focus this season will be on respect, skills, team structures and game plans. We are actively encouraging experienced ex-players back to the club to provide on and off-field guidance to assist these younger players in their development. We don’t expect to be a force this season but expect to see improvement and to be competitive in most games for longer periods.”
Sorell
Coach: Tim Castle
Co-captains: Alexander Jones and Adrian Butterworth.
Last year’s finish: Fifth
2022 best-and-fairest: Nic Baker
Key ins: Will Poland (Lauderdale), Bodhi Kingston (Lauderdale), Brock Daniels (Hobart), Jed Steele (St. Pats), Connor Berry (University), Hayden Triffet (Campania), Will Harris (Lindisfarne), Hugh Smith (Lauderdale), Colby Reid (Lauderdale), Isaac Bateman (returning from injury), Joe Bateman (returning from injury), Connor Smith (year off)
Key outs: Nic Baker (Kingborough Tigers), Mitch Anderton (Clarence), Jeremiah Perkins (Lauderdale)
Coach’s comments: “The boys have put in a big pre-season and are looking really fit and excited heading into the season. We have obviously lost some talented guys that have decided to go (with our best wishes) to the TSL after reigniting their passion for football with us, but in saying that we have brought in some real quality people to our program as well which should help offset some of that loss. Many of our younger senior players have really stepped up and look primed to take their game to another level this season as well as some older senior guys who have put in a massive workload in preparation for another shot at finals.”
Originally published as Everything you need to know about the 2023 Southern Football League (SFL) season
Analysis: The Tasmanian AFLW Draft prospects ready to step up
Local footy coach opens up on ‘outrageous’ sacking
Off-season central: All the WFNL recruiting news
The country footy clubs to keep an eye on in 2026
New Scottsdale coach confident of uniting group after ‘crazy’ week
