Draftee Riley Knight says it will be a special moment when he returns to his home town of Clare to represent the SANFL Crows on Sunday.
The Mid-North country town will be the first to host an Adelaide SANFL match in the team’s only home game of the season against Port Adelaide.
Knight said he couldn’t wait to run around on his old stomping ground, where he captained his junior football team to an under-14s flag.
“It’s pretty special to be able to go back this weekend and play there in front of my home crowd,” Knight said.
“I grew up in Clare and played all my junior footy for South Clare.
“Everyone loves going back and playing at home. It will be great to see all my mates and play in front of them, and catch up with everyone that’s taught me all through school.
“It’s going to be a great day.”
Knight was selected by Adelaide with pick No.46 in last year’s AFL National Draft and has made an impressive start to his career with the Crows.
The 19-year-old has averaged 15 disposals and five marks a game in his debut season of senior SANFL football.
The hard-running utility was a standout with two crucial goals to help Adelaide to its first-ever SANFL victory over Central District in Round Three.
Knight said the local Clare community would welcome the Crows with open arms when SANFL action rolls into town on Sunday.
“Being a country area, we don’t really get exposed to a lot of AFL or SANFL footballers,“ Knight said.
“We are going to have a lot of great footballers there this week playing from both sides. It’s going to be really good for the community and for the young kids to have a look at them.”
SANFL assistant coach Tate Kaesler agreed, saying the game would provide a great opportunity for the town to embrace SANFL football.
“It can be hard sometimes for people from these regional towns to drive down here and see their favourite teams play,” Kaesler said.
“I think it’s a great initiative to have Clare host the game, as a lot of these country towns are the lifeblood of our game.
“Hopefully we get a big crowd there this Sunday. It’s going to be a really tough contest and our guys are excited by the challenge.”
Crows ticketed members will receive free entry to the game, which kicks off from 2.10pm at Clare Oval. The match will also be broadcast live on 7mate.
