Footy · South Australia

Footy training for Adelaide’s east & the Adelaide Hills

Norwood and Sturt are two of the SANFL’s most successful clubs, and their zones run from the north-eastern suburbs to the top of the Hills. Juniors here are competing for a spot on a list with serious history behind it.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.

Short answer

Eastern Adelaide is split between two SANFL zones. Norwood takes the eastern and north-eastern suburbs; Sturt, based at Unley, takes the inner southern and eastern suburbs and the Adelaide Hills, including the fast-growing Mount Barker area. Community footy in the Hills runs through the Hills Football League, and amateur football through the Adelaide Footy League.

Your pathway

Which club your address belongs to

Two SANFL clubs share the east. Which one runs your pathway depends on the zone your local club is in.

Norwood
Based at Norwood Oval. Development zone: the eastern and north-eastern suburbs, plus the Eyre Peninsula.
Sturt
Based at Unley Oval. Development zone: the inner southern and eastern suburbs and the Adelaide Hills.

Every community club in South Australia is associated with a SANFL League club. The SANFL club finder and zone map show which zone your local club sits in — the SANFL is the authority, and boundaries are reviewed (the next review is due in 2027). In the 2022 review Houghton moved from Central District to Norwood. Sturt’s SANFL page still names the Murray Bridge region, but the 2022 review moved the River Murray league clubs to West Adelaide.

How the AFL pathway works, step by step →

Where you play

The competitions

SANFL under-18 and under-16
Norwood and Sturt’s talent teams.
Hills Football League
Community football through the Adelaide Hills.
Adelaide Footy League
Amateur clubs across the eastern suburbs.
Your first ten minutes

Set it up for Adelaide’s east

Four things, in the order the app asks them. None of them needs a coach.

Choose footy, then your team nights

Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — SANFL under-18 and under-16 or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.

Match the program to your league’s start

The app treats March as the start of the footy season. SANFL and community footy in South Australia starts in April, so you can hold the pre-season through March by setting the phase yourself. The phase lives in Program → Your year.

Know your numbers on day one

Your first testing session is ready immediately: 2km time trial, Bench press 1RM, Max pull-ups, Trap-bar deadlift 1RM, Running vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.

Put your suburb on the board

In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.

NorwoodTea Tree GullyModburyAthelstoneBurnsideUnleyStirlingMount BarkerHahndorf

Starting now

What you start with, by the month you join

Every block is four weeks — three building, one deload — so a free month is one complete block. The footy calendar and conditions are on the Adelaide guide.

Jan
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Feb
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Mar
In-season
Maintenance block
Apr
In-season
Maintenance block
May
In-season
Maintenance block
Jun
In-season
Maintenance block
Jul
In-season
Maintenance block
Aug
In-season
Maintenance block
Sep
In-season
Maintenance block
Oct
Off-season
Muscle-building block
Nov
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Dec
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Read from the app: the season phase a new AFL account starts in, and the first four-week block it runs.
For coaches

Coaching a side in Adelaide’s east?

A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.

FAQ

Footy in Adelaide’s east: questions

Which SANFL club covers Tea Tree Gully and Modbury?
Norwood, whose development zone includes the eastern and north-eastern suburbs.
Which SANFL club covers the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker?
Sturt. Its development zone includes the inner southern and eastern suburbs and the Adelaide Hills.
What footy league is in the Adelaide Hills?
The Hills Football League.
Sources

Where these facts come from

Checked September 2026. Zones, grades and dates change — if something here is out of date, the governing body is right and we are wrong.

  1. SANFL — Norwood club page (development zone)
  2. SANFL — Sturt club page (development zone)
  3. SANFL — new boundaries for recruiting zones (2022)
  4. SANFL — club finder and zone map
  5. Australian rules football in South Australia — leagues by region

Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.

Turn up to round one already fit

Pick footy, tell it your team nights, and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.