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The Scum rises, at least for one week

  • Wednesday, July 03 2013 @ 09:03 am ACST
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Australia

We've heard some interesting stories over the years from across the world of footy of teams stacked with top quality ring-ins from Australia, but few reports would beat the following for a team so lowly to be stacked so well.

The Adelaide University Football Club, known as The Blacks, has a long history in the South Australian Amateur Football League dating back to 1906.  Self-described as the World's Greatest Football Clubs, the AUFC is surely one of the biggest (in fact we'd love to hear examples of any that are larger).

In season 2013 the club has teams in Division 1, 1 Reserves, 6, 6 Reserves, 8, 8 Reserves, C1, Over 35s (known as the Greys rather than Blacks) and a Women's side for the first time (competing in the South Australian Women's Football League) - giving a grand total of 9 open age teams.

Last week saw an interesting tale of five brothers taking to the field.  You can imagine that down at Division 8 Reserves level exceptional talent is, well, spread fairly thin.  University affectionately call their 8R team the Scum, and if the A grade lost a game then AUFC legend Fred "Chocka" Bloch often consoled the club that order had been restored to the Universe because the Scum had lost by more.  But not last week.

A couple of lads by the surname of Holland happen to play for the club, and Luke and James were joined by their siblings who happen to be former AFL footballers Nick (formerly North Adelaide and 179 games with Hawthorn) and Ben Holland (North Adelaide and 191 games with Richmond and Melbourne).  Donning the Blacks jumper too was brother-in-law Duncan Kelleway (180 games at Richmond).  Suddenly the Scum was armed with 5 brothers and 3 players who shared over 500 AFL games between them.  Plus another former SANFL player, and an influential member of the Australian Labor Party (though I assume that doesn't help you play footy).

Suffice to say that the luckless Prince Alfred Old Collegians were no match even on a boggy track, although in the circumstances the 90 point loss was perhaps a good showing.  Nevertheless Bob Neil must've been proud.