South Adelaide Hall of Fame and Premiership Player Alf Skuse passes away. 

South Adelaide Football Club is mourning the loss of 1964 Premiership Player Alf Skuse. 

For those who had the pleasure of seeing him play, Skuse was a tenacious and talented half forward flanker/rover, who made played 139 games for the Panthers between 1962 and 1970.

A member of the 1964 Premiership side that defeated Port Adelaide by 27 points, Skuse played on a half forward flank that day and was one of the best players on the field and instrumental in South beating the Magpies.

Hailing from Gawler, Skuse was the eldest son of 9 children. 

Working for Mr Leo Odea in his racing stables while attending Gawler High School, Skuse would be up at 5am every day to work the horses before going to school.

Skuse played for Gawler and District Football Club in the Under-17s in the 1950s, winning a Best and Fairest. 

Two years before joining South Adelaide, in 1960 he would play in the Elizabeth and District Premiership side and also won the Best and Fairest and Mail Medal in 1961 playing for Willaston. 

Described as a natural footballer, Skuse topped the Panthers goal kicking in 1966 with 38 goals and finished his career 195 goals.

This goal total could have been higher where through 6 matches in 1966 Skuse kicked 6.25. 

Blessed with blistering speed and widely considered to be the quickest half forward in the SANFL for much of his career, Skuse also won the Bay Sheffield in 1964 and was once described by Jeff Pash as "a ready made rover from the beginning, with all the required virtues, including pace".

To show Skuse class as a footballer, he did not play any Reserves football for South Adelaide, and was the first player to wear Adidas Football Boots. 

Alf also played 9 times for South Australia, including matches at the 1966 Hobart carnival.

In 1970 Skuse was made a Life Member of the South Adelaide Football Club and was recognised in 2011 by being inducted into the South Adelaide Football Club Hall of Fame. 

After his time at South Adelaide, Skuse would return to Gawler South as Captain/Coach.

1971 to 1973 Alf was Captain/Coach of Gawler Centrals and won the Mail Medal in 1971.

He retired from playing football due to a heart failure and had his Aorta valve replaced with an artificial valve. 

Having been born with a deformed Aorta heart valve, Skuse had heart surgery at 32 with the installation of an artificial aorta valve replacement which was going to give him '10 years of quality life', which turned out to be more than 50 years of quality life. 

Skuse would still go to South Adelaide Games right up until last year where declining health limited him from attending games. 

Both South Adelaide Senior Men's and Women's teams will wear a black arm band across the weekend. 

The South Adelaide Football Club offers its thoughts to his wife Kay and children Debbie and Tony and Alf's Family and Friends.