TWO IN the same week. The first on Easter Monday. Now the second on the Friday night stage of Gather Round. It's a good time to be a Sturt supporter.
Fresh off winning a 16th SANFL flag in a one-loss 2025 campaign, the Double Blues have started their defence 2-0 and watched on as two premiership heroes have been picked at the next level in a matter of days.
Flynn Perez played his first AFL game in 955 days on Monday after landing a second chance at Hawthorn via the pre-season supplemental selection period in March.
And now Angus Anderson will make his debut for Collingwood on the same ground he won the Jack Oatey Medal last September after leading Sturt to the Grand Final win over Glenelg at Adelaide Oval.
Sturt coach Martin Mattner, who played 222 games for Adelaide and Sydney, including the 2012 premiership win for the Swans, said their rise to the next level underlines how the Unley-based club functions.
"(I’m) very proud that we have been able to help these guys achieve their goals," Mattner told AFL.com.au this week.
"(They are) both slightly different in how they went about it; one coming off an AFL list and wanting to get back the love of footy and then getting drafted; and Angus coming to us from Sydney and the Swans Academy, then spending three years here and working really hard to improve his game and get better; he had an amazing year last year and gets the reward of firstly getting on an AFL and now making his debut.
"It's huge for the club as well. It just reinforces our program is running really well and operating really well on all levels. It's a huge recruiting tool for us when we trying to get players to the club when you can say that you've had a few different players in different paths come to the club and develop their game, then both get drafted."
Anderson didn't have a manager until only a few weeks ago, so Mattner provided the 190cm midfielder with guidance in the second half of last year and clubs with GPS data, extra vision and background on his character and story.
After moving from Sydney to South Australia in 2023, Anderson spent his first season at Sturt in the reserves. Mattner then played him as a third tall forward in 2024 at league level, before a midfield spot opened last year and he emerged as one of the best inside midfielders in the competition, earning team of the year selection, before starring in both finals, while Collingwood recruiters Shane O'Bree and Shannon Collins watched on.
"We always knew he had a bit of something different and a little bit of talent when he came to the club three years ago," Mattner said. "I guess it's just been working with him, trying to improve the standards; there was a standard at the beginning to play league footy, and there's a standard that he probably needed to get drafted. And to his credit, he worked really hard on all areas of his game and improved.
"Last year, we really saw him take his game to another level and his fitness improved. He took another 15 or 20 seconds off his PB every 2km time-trial, and it's getting big in the gym and all those things. Last year was just an amazing year for him so much. Had a great pre-season, great final series for us. His whole journey over three years has been quite incredible."
Perez moved away from Victoria ahead of the 2024 season after a challenging stint at North Melbourne. He played 24 games in four seasons at Arden Street, around two knee reconstructions, falling out of love with footy in the process.
But at Sturt – and in South Australia more broadly – the 24-year-old rediscovered the passion within, finally sorted out his body and improved his game as a rebounding defender to earn a trial at Hawthorn in December, a contract in March and then a game in front of 84,712 in the traditional Easter Monday blockbuster.
"I think there was a few different reasons why he was delisted from North Melbourne, and injury was part of that. We saw in his first year at Sturt the frustration in his body and frustration in his love of footy; he didn't think he was going to be the player he was and he had those doubts," Mattner said.
"I think probably getting a bit of a different perspective on life helped, having to work and making footy maybe not be the number one thing was quite a big thing for Flynn. I also think the big thing with both of them that was quite telling was they really embraced the club as a whole, it wasn't just about playing."
Losing important players on the eve of the season is bittersweet for state league clubs. On one hand they are thrilled for the individual, but on the other it is impossible to replace them at that time of year. That is the nature of the beast in the SSP and Mid-Season Rookie Draft era.
The more team success Sturt has, the more recruiters will scout their players. Reigning Magarey Medallist Tom Lewis is 26 and still chasing a chance at the next level, while Will Snelling played for Essendon and Port Adelaide and is now studying medicine, content at this level rather than another go in the AFL.
Then there is Zac Becker, who trialled with North Melbourne during the SSP only to be overlooked for Tom Blamires, and will play under Mattner this Saturday in the SANFL v VFL game. Sam Conforti has also been picked in the state team and is another who could follow his close mate Perez into the AFL at some point.
Those two are two recruiters will track closely this season. But this week has been monumental for two Sturt premiership players now living the AFL dream.