Hickinbotham news

Alan Hickinbotham has been synonymous with South Adelaide for 60 years and the links will remain with Noarlunga Oval renamed Alan Hickinbotham Oval. The Panthers pinned the Hickinbotham name on the oval gates on the eve of their return to the finals – South will play Port Adelaide in the elimination final on Sunday – for the first time in 14 years. ‘‘Big Al’’, who put his heart and body on the line for the Panthers from 1946-48 – reckons that’s completely fitting for a club on the up. ‘‘This group of players have formed the spirit of a club going forward,’’ Hickinbotham said. ‘‘Now that we’ve got an oval to call our own and a district to call our own we can make some plans. South is on its way forward.’’ A rugged Panthers half-back and successful businessmen , Hickinbotham, 81, has held just about every job at the club, including president. ‘‘I negotiated with (1964 premiership coach) Neil Kerley. He was very hard to negotiate with,’’ Hickinbotham said. Hickinbotham played alongside SA greats such as dual Magarey Medallist Jimmy Deane – ‘‘he played with me,’’ ‘‘Big Al’’ reckons – Jack Boyle and Ray Linke. Hickinbotham returned to his birthplace at Geelong in 1949 but missed the 1951 Cats premiership after breaking a finger in the preliminary final. He returned to South and headed its fight for survival in the 1980s when the club almost succumbed to outside pressures. South’s move is not a commercial deal but rather recognition of Hickinbotham’s lifetime of loyalty. ‘‘It’s the way you’re made,’’ Hickinbotham said. ‘‘I’m really pleased about this. It was a real battle to keep South alive so I’m not leaving now.