The Onka-Valley Football Club are excited to announce the signing of Paul Tanner as the new Senior Coach of the Football Club for 2018.

Tanner has been a stalwart of the Football Club in many areas, and has many years of coaching experience behind him on various levels. His appointment comes after a very thorough and professional process in which the Senior Executive of the club put in place.

“As a club, we are delighted with the appointment, the process conducted was meticulous and very thorough. Our selection team consisted of existing club expertise together with an external HR Consultant and a current SANFL league coach. The decision to offer Paul the coaching position was reinforced by a strong and passionate interview in which Paul presented a strong set of values and behaviours he will be seeking and that matches what the club is looking for” said Onka Valley Football Club President Andrew Adcock.

“Paul has shown on many levels his ability to teach and lead footballers both on and off the field, and as a committee we are convinced this appointment is the correct one for our football club. The further development and education of the game to our playing group is paramount as we continue to strive for the ultimate success. Paul’s ability in being able to achieve this in the past was principal to this appointment.” added Adcock.

Tanner has played over 300 games for the club and has coached nearly every grade in which the club competes. Starting as an 18-year-old, and taking on the coaching of the U12’s right through to being a playing coach of the “B” Grade in 2014 as a 34-year-old. In that time Tanner also played over 200 ‘A’ Grade games at the Club, was the club ‘A’ grade captain for many years and is also a Life Member. His greatest Coaching achievement came in 2012 when taking the Onkas U17’s to a Premiership, and with most of these players now playing Senior Football at the club, this will see a reconnection with these successful times these players shared.

Paul has spent the last 12 months as Assistant Coach at the Imperial Football Club in the River Murray League, gaining great experience and a further understanding of the game in another environment which has further grown his experiences in readiness for this position back at Onkas.

The club is thankful and very appreciative to the many applicants it received, but now looks forward to supporting and working with Tanner in getting the desired result the club so desperately seeks.

Paul played his first game of football for the Onka Valley in 1988 at the age of 8 with his 6 year old brother Steve by his side under the guidance of his first coach Ray Coffey.
Being in the same side as his younger brother made for great sibling rivalry especially in 1992 when DIbba managed to beat Dingo for the Under 12’s Best and Fairest award.
In 1993 Dingo moved into the junior colts and in 1994 was devastated by losing his first Grand Final by less the a kick. Within hours though he was back to his best by standing with the huge OVFC ground on the hill at Lobethal to watch his beloved A grade win their second ever and most recent premiership.
In 1995 Paul moved into the under 17s where it was clear that being about a meter shorter than anyone else on the field may have an impact on his playing career for the next year years at least.
1997 was Dingo’s last year of under 17s and was fortunate enough to play in a winning premiership side under the guidance of Shane Collins. Although he only played no more than 5 minutes of game time he gave everything he had to the side and was grateful to be part of such a strong group.
In 1998 he moved into the senior ranks playing B grade under the guidance of past OVFC premiership, captain and club president Craig Pasckhe. He found himself running water during weeks where he was unable to make the best 21 but still managed to celebrate with the winning 1998 B Grade premiership side. 1998 was also the year where at the age of 18 Dingo took up the position as the coach of the under 12s. This was his first time in a coaching role and saw him coach a few of the current senior list including Damien Green, Matt Francis and James Smart.
In 2000 under the guidance of Glen Elliott, Dingo made his A grade debut in Round 9 (24/06/2000) against Uraidla at Balhannah and it was a Draw. Fast forward to the start of season 2010 with brother and current captain Dibba suffering a preseason injury, Dingo was announced as the clubs 23rd club captain under the coaching of Dave Evans. Dingo did play 200 A Grade games (and yellow carded) against Uraidla and then played his last A grade game in Round 18 2013 at Blackwood handing the captaincy back to Dibba and then joined his mentor Steve Wallace in the box as the A grade assistance coach for season 2014. In 2015 Dingo took on the role as B grade playing coach naming himself as resident B full forward and ultimately won the B Grade association goal kicking trophy with just 31 goals.   
Dingo has spent 13 years In different coaching roles at the Onka Valley Football Club and whilst he has made it to the big stage on several occasions he finally tasted the ultimate success in coaching the 2012 under 17 side to a premiership over Hahndorf at Balhannah which included current A grade stars such as then Captain Matt Dean, Jake Adcock, Andy Vines and Ben Hochuli, Tyler Bosman, James Cornish and Zac Georg-Dent.
Dingo is a highly decorated club person previously serving 3 years on the senior committee, winning multiple on-field and off field club person awards and received club life membership in 2011 and is the current Junior Development officer.
Congratulation on your 300 club games and may there still be a few more to come

Onkaparinga Valley Football Club is very proud to announce Shaun Tait as their Number 1 Ticket Holder for 2015 season.

Shaun is a professional Australian cricketer, who currently plays in the Twenty20 format around the world. Tait has also played domestic cricket for South Australia (debuting at 19 years old in 2002) and represented Australia at Twenty20 International, One Day International and Test Match level. Shaun was also an integral member of the winning 2007 Australian World Cup team, which was held in the West Indies.  

Shaun has enjoyed a long association with the Bulldogs, joining the club in 1994, where he first played in the Under12’s with his brother Jarryd and his Dad (Phil) coached the team.

Shaun progressed through junior grades at Onka Valley, representing the club at Junior and Senior Colt levels where he was a key member of 2000 Senior Colts premiership team. He kicked 5 goals at Full Forward in the 2000 Grand Final and was awarded Best on Ground honours.

With his cricket career blossoming very quickly, Shaun decided to invest all of his time and energy into his cricket, and consequently decided to quit football after the 2000 Senior Colts Grand Final.

Shaun has continued to watch the Bulldogs play since he stopped playing (when his cricketing schedule allows it) and follow the club from afar - continuing to maintain close friendships with a number of Onka Valley players and supporters.

Tait is looking forward to his new role, and continued association with the football club. Shaun is very honoured to be both asked and recognised at Onkaparinga Valley’s Number 1 ticketholder.