Twenty-five years after Glenelg Hall of Famer Simon Hele played the last of his 197 games for the club, son Jimmy has captained the Tigers to a SANFL Talent League premiership.
It was a special Sunday for the Hele family as 2001 league captain Simon watched son Jimmy amass 25 disposals in a comfortable victory for Glenelg at Adelaide Oval.
Jimmy has been a consistent piece of a star-studded midfield group all year, averaging 28 disposals and seven clearances and setting a high baseline for himself in a midfield which also contains state squad members Jacob McNicol, Harvey Croker and Gabriel Patterson.
“We knew we were going to need to scrap for four quarters and we knew once it was played in our half, we would be able to run over the top of them.
“We owned our moments so it's pretty special because we put so much work in this year.
“We spoke about the fact it took a village to get there and so being able to win a premiership is something I hold close to my heart.”
Simon played 11 seasons for the club from 1991 before playing his last season at the Port Adelaide Magpies.
In winning a premiership, Jimmy has already achieved something Simon was unable to, and has helped give Jimmy a platform to become one of the state's best junior talents.
Multiple clubs are keeping tabs on the midfielder, who has added balance this year to complement his acumen around stoppages.
“I'm so grateful to have Dad there to give me feedback and lean on,” Hele added.
“He knows your life isn't all about footy so he's helped me in that aspect as well. He was an outside midfielder/winger so that has helped me improve my game because he understands how to get outside ball and the running patterns.
“I got a bit of criticism about my outside game so I worked hard on that in the off-season because I know around stoppages I can be really strong, that's my weapon, so it was more about spreading fast from contest and I've improved that significantly.
“And mentally as well, footy is a long game. If you're having a bad four or five minutes, it's not going to affect your whole game, you have to fight back.
“Being resilient and doing what you can for the team so he's helped in what way and given me the discipline to get better everyday.”
Glenelg finished the season second on the table with an 11-7 record, beating Central District by 39 points in the semi-final to qualify for the big dance.
Hele praised the Glenelg system, led by coach Ben Kane, for the philosophies which have enabled players to prosper.
“We knew we had so much talent in the group and we prioritised being the best running team. We focused on being great at little things that didn't require talent because we knew we had that talent there,” Hele said.
“Once we focused on team-first, we played our best footy.
“There's a lot of outside noise and we didn't let any of that get to us so we were super grateful to have them in the team but from my perspective it's more about not looking at them as state players, (but) looking at them at Glenelg players.”
State combine invitee McNicol was awarded best afield with 34 disposals to cap off a terrific season of improvement where he was also one of South Australia's best at the Under-18s National Championships.
“He's had a strong year and had a lot to work on but has a lot of talent," Hele said.
"It was reward for effort because he's put a lot of work into his game.
"He runs hard, he hits the scoreboard and working back defensively is something he's added to his game this year. He finds the ball, he gets the ball on the inside and spreads well to the outside which he did well (on Sunday) - he makes the most of his opportunities. We know what we're getting from Jacob, he's super reliable."
AFL Academy member Patterson, underrated defender Harry Franz and midfielder Harvey Croker are among the other draftable players coming out of Glenelg.
Patterson stood up as Glenelg broke away in the second quarter and a strong finals series has reminded recruiters of his talent after an up-and-down year punctuated by injury.
“Behind the scenes he wants to get better at every single thing he does,” Hele said.
“He's so competitive and sometimes he can maybe get in his head a bit but this year, especially in finals, he's improved in that aspect and knows he will get the rewards because of the work he has done.
“He's a very talented player, he's everything you want for a forward who can go into the midfield in the AFL.
“He brings others into the game, he always gives first give and is a better player for doing that.”
