1 March 2010: On Friday night 26 February 2010, the GFHASA held its annual presentation night at the German Club in the City! A great night was had by all, with nibbles, drinks, music, awards, dancing, and more drinks enjoyed by the vast majority! Awards were handed out, and congratulations must go to: Men's Player of the Year: Gabe Phillips (Onkas) Women's Player of the Year: Caroline Gardner (Irish Blues) Men's Junior Player of the Year: John Pegoraro (St Brendan's) Women's Junior Player of the Year: Phine Phung (Na Fianna) Men's 7-a-side Player of the Year: Wade Saunders and Gabe Phillips (Onkas) Also the 2009/2010 Team of the Year was named for both codes, as were the award winners from the SA State Teams who competed at the 2009 Championships in Melbourne. These will be posted here shortly. Congratulations to all award winners and Team of the Year nominees, and a big thanks to those who organised a fantastic night!

10 February 2010: Wednesday night saw Onkaparinga defeat Western Ireland 5.20 (35) to 3.16 (25) to go back to back and win their second Gaelic7s premiership in a row. In perfect conditions at St Marys Park Onkas proved again they are the benchmark in the shortened version of the game. A big thanks to all players and teams who participated in the Gaelic7s competition in 2009/2010, and we hope to see you all again next season. Another big thanks to the referees who controlled the games this season, and to Dave Floreani and Steve Ridley who did the lions share of the work to ensure the Gaelic7s competition ran smoothly! Click here to see the final ladder and the results for the Gaelic7's competition.

Want to discuss Gaelic Football in South Australia with other players? GFHASA has struck up an association with the South Australian based website forum, SA Footy! Find out more 9 February 2010: GFHASA is trialling an electronic newsletter, and is putting together a mailing list of players, coaches, and any other interested parties. To view the first edition of the newsletter click here, and to join the GFHASA mailing list simply send your email address to info@gaelicfootballsa.com.au. It is hoped this newsletter will become a weekly fixture in the 2010/2011 season. Any suggestions or articles for the newsletter can also be emailed through! St Patricks Day is coming up, and the Irish Club is organising a parade and other festivities to celebrate the day. The parade is going to be held on Saturday 13 March 2010 and will be marching through the City from St Marys College on Grote street to the Irish Club on Carrington street. The Irish Club has extended an invite to all members of the GFHASA to participate in this event! If you or your club would like to participate in this parade, please contact Kevin Neeson from the IAA on kneeson@surmed.com.au. Visit the Irish Club website www.irishclub.org.au or view this poster to check out what else the Irish Club is planning for St Patrick’s Day! 6 February 2010: The 2009/2010 GFHASA Season Presentation night will be held at the German Club (223 Flinders Street, Adelaide, www.thegermanclub.com.au) on Friday night 26 February 2010! On this night the Team of the Year (men’s and women’s) and the Best Players (men’s women’s, junior men’s, junior women’s, Gaelic7s) will be announced for the 2009/2010 season. Cost is $15 per head and all proceeds raised are going to the South Australian State Teams competing at the 2010 Australasian Championships in Auckland. Tickets can be purchased at St Marys Park or at the door on the night. Also the GFHASA is running a can and bottle drive to help raise funds for the 2010 Australasian Championships in Auckland. If you have any cans or bottles that you are not going to recycle, please bring them down to St Mary’s Park and put them in the recyclable bins! 14 December 2009: Congratulations to Onkas (men) and Irish Blues (women) who won their grand finals on the weekend! In perfect conditions at St Mary’s Park, Onkas defended the Jim Farnan Cup by defeating Western Ireland 4.12 (24) to 0.14 (14), whilst the Irish Blues retained the Mná Cup by defeating Onkas 2.8 (14) to 0.10 (10). A big thanks to all who helped out on the day! Professional photographer Peter Argent attended the day - check out the Photos section or click here to see a selection of photos from the day! All these photos and more are available for purchase. September 2009: Welcome to the new look GFHASA website! This site is currently experiencing difficulties when viewed with Internet Explorer 6, but IE7, IE8, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, and Opera all work well. GFHASA has released the 2009/2010 State League and Gaelic7's team nomination forms, as well as sent out letters to all existing State League and Gaelic7s clubs outlining the changes to the competition. New Clubs are also encouraged to nominate for the 2009/2010 season. Find out more 4 November 2009: The refereeing course that was postponed from early October has been rescheduled for November 28 2009. The course will be held at St Mary’s Park, is open to men and women of all ages, is free to attend, and will run from 9am to 5pm and include both theory and practical training! The course is open to anyone wanting to become a referee, or just interested in gathering a better understanding of the game. With the Gaelic7s competition about to kick off this month, there will now be an option for qualified referees to call games on Wednesday nights, Fridays nights, and Sunday afternoons. Remember, it is mandatory for each state league club to provide at least one umpire for the season. If you would like to attend the course, email info@gaelicfootballsa.com.au for more information. Find out more

8 October 2009: The Australasian State Championships in Victoria are all over! Thanks to all who contributed to make it a great tournament. To see photos, and find out how the South Australian teams fared in the Men's, Women's, and Minor's competitions, click here. Find out more   September 2009: The Guardian Messenger has published an article on some members of the South Australian Men's State Team! Read the article here! Find out more

August 2009: South Australia has commenced training for the 2009 Australasian Gaelic Football Championships! The Championships are being held in Victoria this year, at Gaelic Park, Keysborough. The Championships kick off on Monday 28 September 2009, finishing up on Sunday 4 October 2009. The Men's team will be looking at progressing one step further in 2009, after making the Grand Final in the 2008 Championships. Leading the South Australian Mens charge this year is: Coach: Jason Fay Assistant Coach: Damien Emery Team Manager: Roisin McGuinness

The South Australian Women's team will be travelling to Victoria to defend their State Championship won in 2008! Last year the SA Women's team captured the championship by the smallest of margins, coming from behind to win by one point. Organising the title defence are: Coach: Tom Greenshields Assistant Coach: Wade Saunders The South Australian Minors finished third in 2008, and are presently recruiting Under U/18 boys who are willing to represent South Australia and compete in the Gaelic Football National Championships. To find out more download the Invitation Letter or contact Mr Patrick Gillespie, Team Manager, at PGillespie@westminster.sa.edu.au. Running the Minors team are: Coach: Anto Keogh Assistant Coach: Owen Hanna Team Manager: Patrick Gillespie

February 2009: Grand final day was a hectic affair in both grades, with Onkas clinching the Tom Finn Memorial Cup in the Womens State League Final with a narrow 1 point win over Irish Blues. In the men's game St Brendan's defeated Na Fianna 4-14 (26) to 2-6 (12) to win the Hannigan Cup. Many thanks to those who organised a great day!

GAELIC FOOTBALL PRESENTATION NIGHT - the wrap up

On Friday night 27 February 2009, the GFHASA held its annual presentation night at the Kentish Arms in North Adelaide! A great night was had by all, with nibbles, drinks, music, awards, dancing, and more drinks enjoyed by the vast majority! Awards were handed out, and congratulations must go to:

Men's Player of the Year: Gabe Phillips (Onkas)

Women's Player of the Year: Al Kennelly (Na Fianna)

Men's Junior Player of the Year: Sam Janetski (Onkas)

Women's Junior Player of the Year: Tamika Farrell (Na Fianna)

Men's 7-a-side Player of the Year: Gabe Phillips (Onkas)

Also the 2008/2009 Team of the Year was named for both codes. Click here to find out who made the Men's Team of the Year and Women's Team of the Year! Congratulations to all award winners and Team of the Year nominees, and a big thanks to those who organised a fantastic night!

7-A-SIDE GRAND FINAL - Thursday 5th February 2009

Congratulations to Onkas, who added to their silverware for the 2008/2009  campaign by defeating Western Ireland 8-13 (37) to 4-11 (23) in the Men's  7-a-side Grand Final on Wednesday night.

GFHASA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

On Sunday 1st February 2009, the Gaelic Football and Hurling Association of SA held its Annual General Meeting. At this meeting a new Executive and Committee were appointed, more information on this meeting to be posted soon!

JUNIORS: ***UPDATE*** We've had a response to the call for volunteers for starting a Juniors program and more info will be available soon.

Previously: Once again, establishing a Juniors program is proving difficult, mainly due to a lack of volunteers at an organisational level. However, there is a glimmer of hope and we are getting closer thanks to the efforts of Pat Gillespie, Chaplain from Westminster School.

Resources are not an issue. We have plenty of junior footballs and mini portable goalposts, and we have multiple venues available to us. We also have funds available to promote a program.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

Our existing commitments for our State League and 7-a-side over 3 nights a week, plus State Committee and Club commitments places an enormous workload on our State committee members.

If you would like to be involved in establishing this important program, please contact us via email at info@gaelicfootballsa.com.au

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Recently the 2008 Australasian Gaelic Football & Hurling Championships were held in Adelaide at Westminster School, Marion. SA was represented in Men's Women's and Minor (U19) Gaelic Football.

Congratulations to all players, coaches, team managers, support staff and supporters for great performances and putting on a fantastic event.

Our Minors came 3rd, our Men played valiantly in the Grand Final but the best Victorian team for years won the day.

Our wonderful Women, under the direction of Mick, Mauz and Junior, stuck to their team plan and came from a long way behind to steal a stunning victory against the Championship favourites WA.

Click here for info about the 2008 Australasian Gaelic Football & Hurling Championships held in Adelaide

See Full Match Results

********   AUSTRALASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS PHOTOS   ******** courtesy of Epsom Road Studios, Official Photographer for the games. Many team and action photographs from the Championships can be viewed and purchased at www.epsomrdstudios.com.au