They say home is where the heart is and that phrase runs true for former Adelaide swingman Graham Johncock.
Johncock, who played 227 games for the Crows, is well and truly entrenched in his hometown of Port Lincoln.
The now 39-year-old is halfway through his second year as president of the Mallee Park Football Club.
“Two or three years out from me retiring, I always wanted to return home,” Johncock said on this week’s episode of The Crows Show.
“This is where it all started and this is where I wanted to finish it.”
This year, however, is a little different for Johncock, after the Club introduced a women’s team.
Johncock, whose father was Mallee Park’s President before he took over, said entering a team in the inaugural season of Port Lincoln Football League Womens Competition had boosted the Club’s morale.
“Having a women’s team in the competition here, it brought a real enthusiasm around the Club. Not only the Club, but the community,” Johncock said.
“We’ve never had our Club open in February and with the women’s competition it brought that sense of camaraderie within the community and it brought us back together.”
Johncock called time on his 227-game career at the end of 2013 and moved back to Port Lincoln.
He immediately returned to Mallee Park and was voted in as President after his father fell ill.
Johncock said he’s enjoyed every minute of leading the Club.
“I was involved with footy already at Mallee Park through coaching and other leadership roles on gameday and stuff like that,” Johncock said.
“It’s been fantastic for my self development and that sort of stuff - it’s a leadership role and I am really embracing it.
“It’s a real community effort to keep the Club going - not just the Johncock family - but the community as a whole.
“Other families within the community have definitely made Mallee Park what it is today.”
Also on The Crows Show this week, Belinda Sloane speaks to players’ parents and partners about what it's like to watch their loved ones, while Jake Soligo joins Tom Doedee to discuss his Crows Whopper Moment, all thanks to Hungry Jack's.
The Crows Show airs on Channel 7 on Saturday at 12.30pm.
