North Eastern Suburbs F/L - bid for the SANFL

[Sojourner]

Tony Zappia has brought forward the issue once again for consideration, what the paper hasnt reported is that these discussions are already underway and it is not a new idea as such, yet it is good to see it being brought up again and pushed forward.

Norwood are a great football club, yet whatever you might like to think, they dont represent the North Eastern Suburbs of the city whilst being located nearly 30ks away on the Norwood Parade, they do well to represent the Eastern Suburbs of course, yet it is well time that we had our own side in the SANFL. The SANFL themselves clearly saw the need for a side when they allocated the area to West Torrens and made noises about the club moving up here. I hope they are willing to have another look at it again for the same reason and give us a fair go that we deserve after the way that we have made football in the North Eastern Suburbs the fastest growing and biggest football league representation, TTG have a three year waiting list to play for the club and other clubs have similar situations, it is time and I hope its this time!

Zappia appeals to SANFL: set up a club in the northeast
NEWS LOCAL NEWS
18 AUG 09 @ 06:43AM BY TIM WILLIAMS

THE SANFL should consider adding or relocating a club to the northeast in response to burgeoning numbers of junior players in the area, Makin MHR Tony Zappia says.

Amateur clubs Tea Tree Gully and Golden Grove have responded positively to the idea, saying they potentially could host an SANFL side, or even step up to the big league themselves.

The North Eastern Metro Junior Football Association is the largest in Adelaide with 6000 players.

Mr Zappia wrote to the Leader Messenger after the paper revealed that Gullies alone had 520 juniors plus a waiting list, with Golden Grove not far behind, having doubled its junior numbers to 450 since 2003.

“In view of the strong football culture of the area, it seems regrettable that if young footballers ... ultimately play at elite level, they will have to do so with an SANFL club well outside their local area,” Mr Zappia wrote.

“If there was to be an additional side then at the very least the northeast should be considered by the SANFL.”

Mr Zappia said he had approached SANFL state league manager Darren Chandler with the idea earlier this month.

Expanding on his letter, he told the Leader Messenger: “It does seem extraordinary that only one of nine sides is based north of Grand Junction Rd, yet a third of the city’s population is in that region, and under the State Government’s 30 year plan most of the growth is likely to be in the north.”

Gullies president Darren Bugg said the club’s home ground, Pertaringa Oval at Banksia Park, was already close to SANFL standard, with an “excellent” playing surface, lights for night games, and ample parking.

“It would be a whole new business (joining the SANFL), but that’s not to say we couldn’t do it,” he said.

Golden Grove football director Paul Maddford said a northeast team was a “pretty wild concept” but “we wouldn’t shut the door on it”.

“If that prospect were offered to us we’d talk about it,” he said.

“There’s quite a few people who would be willing to get on board with it. There’s a lot of talent in the area.”

Mr Zappia said a northeast team would boost community pride although he would not be drawn on a suitable location except to say it should be “somewhere north of Grand Junction Rd” and dictated by population trends.

He said South Adelaide’s change from its original parklands home to the inner southern suburbs and now Noarlunga, had set a precedent for the SANFL responding to demographic changes.

Existing SANFL side Norwood claims much of the northeast as recruiting territory and its gaming venue The Nor East is based at Gilles Plains.

Redlegs CEO Dominic Shepley said most SANFL clubs were struggling financially and Norwood could not afford competition from a northeastern side.

“I don’t think there’s any capacity for another club in the area at all.”

Central District CEO Kris Grant said the Bulldogs had just 18 local clubs from which to recruit fewer than any other SANFL side.

“We’d be very wary without knowing how they’d divide things up into promotional (recruiting) zones,” he said.

Mr Chandler said the SANFL had no plans to expand “in the near future” and he was not aware of any clubs that would consider relocating. The introduction of any new team would be a decision made by the existing clubs, he said.

http://leader-messenger.whereilive.com. ... northeast/

[Barto]

Should've happened 30 years ago when Torrens passed up the chance to have that area ll to themselves.

[HeartBeatsTrue]

He said South Adelaide’s change from its original parklands home to the inner southern suburbs and now Noarlunga, had set a precedent for the SANFL responding to demographic changes.

Yeah look at the bumper crowds they get there. The SFL is a vibrant footy league but that doesnt seem to translate to interest in the SAFC.

Norwood should play some u18s home games and perhaps league trial matches in the NE area but thats about it.
With the introduction of 2 more AFL teams we dont need to dilute the talent pool even further.

[Zorro]

He said South Adelaide’s change from its original parklands home to the inner southern suburbs and now Noarlunga, had set a precedent for the SANFL responding to demographic changes.

Yeah look at the bumper crowds they get there. The SFL is a vibrant footy league but that doesnt seem to translate to interest in the SAFC.

Norwood should play some u18s home games and perhaps league trial matches in the NE area but thats about it.
With the introduction of 2 more AFL teams we dont need to dilute the talent pool even further.

Spoken like a true Norwood supporter

Agree though, it would affect North's zone as well and with the new recruiting limitations placing more emphasis on recruiting within zones the last thing we should be doing is reducing the pool.

Being from the NE on one hand it would be great overall I'd say no thanks.

[finn]

nice idea - but i thought that is why norwood held their junior training mostly at in the north east? correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't most of the pre-season held at golden grove?

nice try by darren bugg from the gullies but pertaringa's surface is not up to sanfl standard - having played there for many years including this year.

[Sojourner]

Norwood should play some u18s home games and perhaps league trial matches in the NE area but thats about it.

This is an interesting statment and one that I think would be supported by a number of Norwood Supporters, Why would
Norwood want to move any games out of their home in the Eastern Suburbs to play 30ks away in the border of their zone?

Considering the area was allocated to West Torrens, then given to Norwood after the merger, I am not sure that there is any great desire from the NFC to affiliate with the area outside of recruiting players out of the clubs represented there.

Its becoming quite apparent that it is the Norwood footy club that is going to put up the most opposition to try and stop the amatuer league sides in the area from getting together and placing a composite side in the SANFL. I am not sure that alienating the people that are repsented in the football community in the area is going to do Norwood any good in the long term and will likely create angst against the club and do more to turn people towards North and Central anyway, North Adelaide already being popular in the area with their Greenacres club. Norwood would be far better off to adopt the attitude that Hawthorn have taken towards the Tasmanian Governments bid to join the AFL, to come across as neutral and to go into bat to make sure if it does happen that they remain with fair representation along with the other SANFL sides which will be the case anyway.

[Lunchbox Legend]

Sojourner I think you might want them in so can jump ship from South and save yourself some petrol!!!!

[aceman]

Should've happened 30 years ago when Torrens passed up the chance to have that area ll to themselves.

Sounds good in theory but I reckon the opportunity has passed them all by.
Why is it that our 2 top competitions in SA sport, footy & cricket, has a bye in their competition?
Simply because noone has the best interests of the competitions at heart, the clubs consider themselves bigger than the competition rather than being just a part of it.They all shudder at the mention of amalgamation even though it could be the saviour of a couple of clubs.
No other major sporting leagues Australia wide has a "bye" in their fixture programs.

[Big Phil]

Golden Grove will have great facilities whn completed, including a second oval and new club rooms...

I played a few A grade games out there a couple of years ago and they are certainly a club growing and developing...

[JK]

Norwood should play some u18s home games and perhaps league trial matches in the NE area but thats about it.

This is an interesting statment and one that I think would be supported by a number of Norwood Supporters, Why would
Norwood want to move any games out of their home in the Eastern Suburbs to play 30ks away in the border of their zone?

Considering the area was allocated to West Torrens, then given to Norwood after the merger, I am not sure that there is any great desire from the NFC to affiliate with the area outside of recruiting players out of the clubs represented there.

Its becoming quite apparent that it is the Norwood footy club that is going to put up the most opposition to try and stop the amatuer league sides in the area from getting together and placing a composite side in the SANFL. I am not sure that alienating the people that are repsented in the football community in the area is going to do Norwood any good in the long term and will likely create angst against the club and do more to turn people towards North and Central anyway, North Adelaide already being popular in the area with their Greenacres club. Norwood would be far better off to adopt the attitude that Hawthorn have taken towards the Tasmanian Governments bid to join the AFL, to come across as neutral and to go into bat to make sure if it does happen that they remain with fair representation along with the other SANFL sides which will be the case anyway.

You're seeing it from the angle that interests you and Norwood supporters are seeing it from the angle that interests us, both pretty understandable.

Im pretty sure a lot of Norwood supporters over the years have come from the area(s) you're discussing and Norwood have put effort into that region, particularly in recent years, so from our perspective of course I'd expect us to resist any such venture.

[spell_check]

The SANFL would be like watered down cordial to the point where you can't taste the cordial if that happened. Considering the new Gold Coast team, and the reduction of the salary cap to try and promote juniors so they end up in the AFL...

[Barto]

Sounds good in theory but I reckon the opportunity has passed them all by..

That was my point. 30 years ago was when it should have happened.

Why is it that our 2 top competitions in SA sport, footy & cricket, has a bye in their competition?
Simply because noone has the best interests of the competitions at heart, the clubs consider themselves bigger than the competition rather than being just a part of it.They all shudder at the mention of amalgamation even though it could be the saviour of a couple of clubs.
No other major sporting leagues Australia wide has a "bye" in their fixture programs

The AFL will in 2011 and has had in the past.

[dedja]

Pigs will fly before this will be considered seriously ...

[Grahaml]

As a resident of the north east for the last 10 years or so I can definitely say the area is not represented in the SANFL. Norwood might officially have this as a recruiting area but very few people here follow the SANFL at all, and the few that do tend to be dogs fans or just have the faintest interest in the team their grandparents followed. So faint they would like to know if they won the grand final but wouldn't look it up specifically. A new team in the area would be a great boost to the SANFL's profile and would solve issues of representation and the bye of course. But the problems would be great. The capital investment and the fact that most administrators who would be willing and able are already involved in current clubs means any move would have to come at the right time. There needs to be some football figure to drive the face of the club early, council and state government dollars and even then the team might struggle for years. South's move to Noarlunga was absolutely the right one, and perhaps with more success in recent years might be making headway but still it was a bold move.

There is no doubt it would be great to have a 10th side, and the North East is the best place for it. And I think a team could be sustained here. But I also think the time isn't right. We need all 9 existing sides to be financially secure, sort out the mess that is the Power while the stadium issue needs to be played out before the SANFL can think about grand plans for expansion from within. The right time, with the right people this could work. But without one or the other it would fail, and cost a fortune.

[CK]

As a few people have alluded to already, and as I discussed in Sportsbeat a few weeks back - the entry of Gold Coast and West Sydney could result in up to 40 players leaving South Australia by the end of 2011. Bringing in another team would require 60 senior players at least to make it viable - more obviously, to cover injury etc during a season.

How, therefore, can bringing in a tenth club in the suburban area (as opposed to a possible local country option, which is still fraught with problems) possibly improve the situation and competition standard further? In this sort of scenario, it means having to find another 100-plus players of senior SANFL standard by the end of, say, 2011.

Sure, there are some very good footballers running around in the Amateurs that could take the step up - David Allocca (still yet to play a senior, non-Reserves game at Central this year), Jack Juniper for example, illustrate that there are talents out there that can take the step up - but are there 100-plus of them out there?

This is before we even look at increased sponsorship demands etc in a time when many businesses are cutting back their financial support of sport. Will all of this change significantly enough by, say 2015 or 2020? Who knows, but its doubtful.

Looks fraught with danger at a number of levels IMHO.

[Sojourner]

No doubt the very same objections were raised when Woodville and Central entered the SANFL......

When will it ever be "the right time"? I would suggest that there is no time that would ever be considered the right time.

People talk about the SANFL being "diluted", this is exactly what will happen if the SANFL does not expand and represent all of the areas of Metropolitan Adelaide including Mt Barker.

If the SANFL competition remains stuck in the past it will choke and die as it continues to become less relevant in the community. Harsh words but true, you dont see companies like Subway maintaining a presence only in a close ring around the city as the SANFL does, they take their product to the people. The SANFL needs to represent all council areas equally. To not do so white-ants its exposure and relevance in the community.

[spell_check]

The only way there will be a team in the NE suburbs is if Norwood move there. Or even North.

Which team would you prefer to support, Sojourner, Norwood or North?

[Sojourner]

Which team would you prefer to support, Sojourner, Norwood or North?

If those are the choices I think I will go with netball!

[dedja]

Can someone please enlighten me as to what they define as the North Eastern suburbs?

[JK]

If the SANFL competition remains stuck in the past it will choke and die as it continues to become less relevant in the community. Harsh words but true, you dont see companies like Subway maintaining a presence only in a close ring around the city as the SANFL does, they take their product to the people. The SANFL needs to represent all council areas equally. To not do so white-ants its exposure and relevance in the community.

In part I agree with your first sentence and partly disagree ... How many kids growing up today have a burning desire to play for a SANFL club, extremely minimal I'd suggest as nearly all have that desire for AFL ... And the way to the AFL system will always be via the SANFL system I'd imagine?