Werribee Football Club’s alumni continue to be recognised on the national stage, with senior coach James Allan inducted into the West End SA Football Hall of Fame at Adelaide Oval on Monday night.

Established in 2002 to honour those who have made a “most significant contribution to the game of Australian Football,” the Hall of Fame now includes 230 players, coaches, umpires, administrators and media representatives. Allan was one of four new inductees at the 2025 Magarey Medal night, an evening he knows well after his decorated SANFL career.

2024 saw Allan return to Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval after a decorated SANFL career, rejoining the club where his state league journey began in 2005. After being delisted by Geelong, he pulled on the number 5 guernsey for 27 games with Werribee.

From there, he moved to South Australia to play for North Adelaide, and in his first season of SANFL football, he won the league’s top honour, bringing home the Magarey Medal. He dominated the media awards for the season, winning The Advertiser and Football Budget Player of the Year and earning selection in The Advertiser's Team of the Year. He also won North Adelaide's best and fairest award, the first of five consecutive times.

His arrival sparked a resurgence for the Roosters, who reached their first Grand Final since 1991 in 2007, though they fell to Central District. Individually, Allan continued to take the SANFL by storm, adding Magarey Medals in 2010 and 2011 and collecting a remarkable run of media and club honours. By the end of 2011, he ranked second only to the legendary Barrie Robran for both Magarey Medals (three) and North Adelaide best and fairest awards (five).

After captaining North Adelaide in 2012, Allan announced he would finish with the Roosters at the end of the season and returned to his native Victoria in 2013. The following year, a teaching opportunity brought him back to South Australia, where he joined Norwood and capped off his career with a premiership in 2014. He retired from the SANFL at the end of 2015 with 146 games to his name, along with two State of Origin appearances for South Australia.

After calling time on his playing career in 2015, Allan turned to coaching, guiding Norwood’s Under 18s in 2018 and 2019, taking on the club’s league midfield role in 2020, before joining North Adelaide as an assistant coach in 2023.

Back at Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval in 2024, Allan led Werribee to its drought-breaking premiership as senior coach.

Reflecting on his journey at the Magarey Medal night, Allan was asked about comparing coaching Werribee to his SANFL playing days and said, “It’s very different, there’s a bit more to worry about… I’d love to still be playing. I tell the boys all the time, you’re so lucky to still be able to play. If I could play in another one, I would, but coaching is the next best thing.”

Photo by James Elsby of Allan with SA Football Commission Chairman Rob Kerin.