Henley kicked 9.11 (65) to the Academy's 8.7 (55) in a tight affair at Henley High School.
The Academy started well, kicking the first goal of the match and taking a five-point lead into quarter time.
Despite starting well in the second term, the Academy was reeled in again by Henley, which closed the margin to four points at the main break.
The home side then took control of the game - slotting the first three goals - but good work from the Academy helped ensure the margin was just a slender eight points at the final change.
But a goal-for-goal affair in the final quarter made securing an upset win difficult for the Academy, and Henley's last goal before the final siren ensured the would advance through to the next round of finals.
Academy coach Eugene Warrior said that his charges played a top standard of football, but couldn’t finish off what was a very good effort.
“The boys played some really good footy… right from the outset we had to put in a big effort to compete, by putting pressure on their ball carriers,” Warrior said.
“We tried to force the turn over because we know that our attacking game is really strong.
“In the end we couldn’t get over the line, but there were some really pleasing aspects from the boys today.”
The Academy was the underdog heading into the match - Henley had not lost a game in the competition since 1999 - but the electrifying football displayed by the team, particularly in the midfield, was enough to push the favourites to the end.
They team led by captain Jonathon Leidig, who set the standard for his teammates through his hard tackling and fast running at centre half-back.
Leidig said the narrow loss was a bitter pill for the team, but they would learn from the experience and could be proud of the way they played.
“It’s not a great feeling [amongst the team] at the moment… you always feel like you could have done more,” Leidig said.
“We’ll have to train hard and move on… everyone is pretty happy with our efforts, and we surprised a few people with our performance.”
A number of impressive performance were produced by the Academy, particularly from Kyle Jackson at centre half-forward and Isiah McKenzie at full-forward - both kicking two goals.
Keanu Miller was instrumental in the midfield with excellent carry through the middle of the ground.
Academy ambassador Gavin Wanganeen said the way the program's participants had adapted to the new program was pleasing to see.
“Seeing the boys and how they have come on from the first training session is great,” Wanganeen said.
“They step outside their comfort zones, have conversations with people they don’t know, are networking… just simple things like that, makes you see that they are growing up through this program.”
The South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy develop the program and utilises the support of the Port Adelaide Football Club in providing training facilities and equipment.
