SANFL becoming AFLish ?????????

[mal]

Ive seen enough footy over the years to make judgement on the SANFL
Ive heard about the great Fos Williams at PA with his never say die type of brand footy
Ive seen bits of Jack Oateys Sturt boys in the 60s bringing an unprecedented exciting brand of footy to the comp
Seen some dazzling footy in the 70-80s when Jack Cahill incorporated bits and pieces of Williams/Oatey to PA
Seen Neil Kerley producing some exciting teams at GL + WA
The Kerley 1983 premiership WA team was one of the dazzlingiest teams of all time
Mike Nunan produced a brilliant crop of players with NA in the 80s as well
The 90s saw PA being the most successful club with a relentless style of footy
The 2000s have seen CD playing a superior brand of offensive and defensive footy to them all
At some stage all teams between 1950-2010 have played some great styles of footy


In very recent years theres been a shift in playing styles
Ive watched the AFL being transformed in recent years, and bits of that style is being incorporated into the SANFL

This is a eMAiL sent to the Phantom in the round 13 Budget

________________________________________________________________________________
My major perception of season 2011 is that the SANFL is unfortunately moving closer to the AFL
ie zonal defensive nonsense
unfair punishment against the only bloke going hard at the ball
a clear reluctance from officials to allow a contest without whistling for a soft free kick
State suburban footy needs to be tough but fair and should reward the players who make the effort to get in first and have a desire too create something for their team- not the scavengers who wait and hail cabs
We now have too many games spoilt by a lack of team structure, believing that crowding the ball is attractive and that somehow high scores can be kicked without strong forward options being permanently made available
How about each player takes responsibility to beat their direct opponent and we get to see a 2 hour struggle without unsporting rules and defensive strategies destroying the appeal of our great game
Maybe , just maybe, the sadly missed spectacular high marks will the return to the SANFL too
_________________________________________________________________________________

I have to agree with this eMAiL
The SANFL is still a great comp to watch
But
Im getting slightly dissatisfied seeing some AFL playing styles creeping into our comp
And even worse is some disgusting AFL style umpiring being implemented into the SANFL

SANFL comp is doing really well all things considering nowadays
But SANFL officials must not be complacent, the more it allows AFLism into the SANFL the more this comp will become unattractive , when that happens crowds may start dwindling

[darley16]

Agreed, however it's all in the umpiring, that's the major influencing factor that is effecting our comp. The creeping AFL interpretations that has both players and coaches second guessing about how to go about playing the game at SANFL level. Example of this being reflected in Panther coach Ron Fuller, normally a very stable, controlled character finally losing his cool at incompetent umpiring and getting reported for abusing the umpires at 3/4 time on Saturday. His frustration is being felt and understood by all SANFL players, coaches and supporters.

[leftlegger]

Agreed, however it's all in the umpiring, that's the major influencing factor that is effecting our comp. The creeping AFL interpretations that has both players and coaches second guessing about how to go about playing the game at SANFL level. Example of this being reflected in Panther coach Ron Fuller, normally a very stable, controlled character finally losing his cool at incompetent umpiring and getting reported for abusing the umpires at 3/4 time on Saturday. His frustration is being felt and understood by all SANFL players, coaches and supporters.

Spot on!

The last three SANFL matches that I have attended have all been badly over umpired.
Is it a coincidence that these AFL style umpiring interpretations have crept in since the AFL bail out?
Definitely on the nose.

I have no problem on how the players & coaches of our great comp are going about it. All giving 100%. Hard, skillfull footy outside of the AFL circus.

[Drop Bear]

The closer the SANFL becomes to the AFL the more it will put me off watching.

[hereselmo1]

Looking at game style I thought Claremont were noticably more 'AFL like' with their tactics and ball movement. It was one of the reasons they cut us to bits at times when they found space.

[tigerpie]

this is a tough thing to deal with...there has to be SOME umpiring standard which is universal so that umpires in all comps/grades are learning the rules and interpretations.this would come from the afl.

the trick is having umpires that have a feel for the game and obviously at sanfl level we prefer the tough but fair approach to awarding free kicks.for instance a south australian umpire who is on the afl umpiring panel may get dropped back to sanfl level for whatever reason.is he going to umpire the game differently to how he would officiate in an afl game?....tough gig for the umpire!!!

also the players coming back from the afl would be pretty confused as to why they are/arent getting free kicks awarded to them.

i dont think there is an easy decision here,but i certainly hope our umpires here dont adopt the afl standard of umpiring because it would drive people away from our great game style here.

[PhilH]

If the SANFL becomes just "AFL Light" then over time interest will dimish.

It needs to be a competition that has is own character that distingusihes it from the elite level.

Best example I can name is in the US where College Football (Gridiron) is a lower quality of skill than the elite NFL
BUT
it has its own traditions and style that sets it apart and is not lacking in either meda coverage, attendences or passion.


In most ways the SANFL has done that with pricing, accessability and an on field physicality (ie more contested footy) that sets it apart from the AFL.

The umpiring (and from that tribinal) interpretation changes this year have been the first major "on field" changes that effect what we see on the field.

The introduction of new coaches with a strong AFL background may also be another factor.

[whufc]

If the SANFL becomes just "AFL Light" then over time interest will dimish.

It needs to be a competition that has is own character that distingusihes it from the elite level.

Best example I can name is in the US where College Football (Gridiron) is a lower quality of skill than the elite NFL
BUT
it has its own traditions and style that sets it apart and is not lacking in either meda coverage, attendences or passion.


In most ways the SANFL has done that with pricing, accessability and an on field physicality (ie more contested footy) that sets it apart from the AFL.

The umpiring (and from that tribinal) interpretation changes this year have been the first major "on field" changes that effect what we see on the field.

The introduction of new coaches with a strong AFL background may also be another factor.

Great post and so true.

The SANFL needs to keep if point of difference which is the style of football that is played.

[Drop Bear]

this is a tough thing to deal with...there has to be SOME umpiring standard which is universal so that umpires in all comps/grades are learning the rules and interpretations.this would come from the afl.

the trick is having umpires that have a feel for the game and obviously at sanfl level we prefer the tough but fair approach to awarding free kicks.for instance a south australian umpire who is on the afl umpiring panel may get dropped back to sanfl level for whatever reason.is he going to umpire the game differently to how he would officiate in an afl game?....tough gig for the umpire!!!

also the players coming back from the afl would be pretty confused as to why they are/arent getting free kicks awarded to them.

i dont think there is an easy decision here,but i certainly hope our umpires here dont adopt the afl standard of umpiring because it would drive people away from our great game style here.

A bit of common sense wouldn't hurt either.

[tigerpie]

this is a tough thing to deal with...there has to be SOME umpiring standard which is universal so that umpires in all comps/grades are learning the rules and interpretations.this would come from the afl.

the trick is having umpires that have a feel for the game and obviously at sanfl level we prefer the tough but fair approach to awarding free kicks.for instance a south australian umpire who is on the afl umpiring panel may get dropped back to sanfl level for whatever reason.is he going to umpire the game differently to how he would officiate in an afl game?....tough gig for the umpire!!!

also the players coming back from the afl would be pretty confused as to why they are/arent getting free kicks awarded to them.

i dont think there is an easy decision here,but i certainly hope our umpires here dont adopt the afl standard of umpiring because it would drive people away from our great game style here.

A bit of common sense wouldn't hurt either.

umpire with common sense= oxymoron....ooops this post may be deleted.

[SANFLnut]

The style of play will be driven by the individual coaches of each team. Their responsibility is to produce a style of play that can advantage their teams, exactly as all of the "golden age" coaches above have done. The zoning type gamestyle would beat all of the styles listed above, it is simply more effective. I am not convinced that part time SANFL players can execute this style to the full effect of full time AFL footballers, or it may just take a year longer to implement. We must accept that this is a trend of the game and expect to see it at this level.

The umpiring question is more complex. It is clearly a choice between "AFL lite" where we copy the way the AFL do things or we stand on our own. This comes back to the question of whether our comp is a stand alone comp or a feeder comp for umpires to the AFL. There is a definite trend to the latter this year. Most posters to this forum would seem to prefer the former. I think we can expect this trend towards AFL style umpiring to continue.

I will be interested to see what happens come finals time. Will we see a shift back to putting the whistle away? Which umpires will be preferred for finals games, those on AFL panel or with AFL aspirations or those with SANFL experience?

[mighty_tiger_79]

the other issue is coaches in the sanfl, who may have afl backgrounds and or have aspirations to coach at afl level. they probably feel the need to show off there ideaologies to prospective afl employees at the sanfl clubs expense

[southee]

The closer the SANFL becomes to the AFL the more it will put me off watching.

Yeah with you there....I thought on the weekend at Unley watching Sturt v South that the game has definately gone AFLish.....not a fan at all.

For example - The holding the ball decisions at the Port v South game at Alberton a few weeks ago were a joke.

I dont know who is pulling the strings but our great game of local SANFL footy is in great danger and I am very fearful of where it is headed.

[mighty_tiger_79]

i agree the more the afl game creeps in the less interested i will become like others here

[HOORAY PUNT]

I think it's been creeping in for a few years not just this year.Flooding firstly then Glenelg a few years back started the zoning and now most clubs try it and are slowly changing to the open forward line. Nothing new, just the umpiring IMO.

[RustyCage]

The flooding in the SANFL is worse than it ever was in the AFL.

[spell_check]

If I've seem to be a little low key lately, you are right.

The flooding in the SANFL is worse than it ever was in the AFL.

This and the other reasons in this thread to do with AFL tactics in this competition are the main reasons why. I'm not saying which team does or does not adopt these tactics - all 9 teams do to an extent. You only need to look here to see the results of these methods:
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=33544

Every time I think of an AFL match, I picture players backtracking, handballing to 4 teammates in 4 seconds who are standing in a circle as well as chipping across the ground and back. This is where the SANFL is headed.

I always remember back to one match in the SANFL - the 2005 1st Semi Final, and recall that until the last couple of minutes of the match there were no kicks sideways. Unless if it was a switch across the ground to attack from there without haste. How times change.

[SABRE]

Yes it sure is Mal and let’s hope it gets more and more like the un-AFL too.

Because when it becomes so thoroughly sanitised and pathetically boring, maybe then South Australians will finally wake up,
grow some balls and say … “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !’’ and tell that money grubbing Victorian joke of a competition where to go.

Why do we continue to let them dictate to us on our national game? We must stop this ‘one state rules the land’ bullsh!t.
It’s Australian Rules, NOT Victoria Governs. Grow some spine S.A. and refuse to take it up the clacker. First we need to
re-badge it with just enough changes to avoid their legal bootlickers claiming copyright over our game. This is where a
revolution is long, long overdue.

First we re-claim independence by replacing the SANFL, who are legally bound to their ‘masters’. Get rid of any salary cap so
we can pay our players enough to stay here AND import good interstaters. Cut the number of players in a team to help
financially and structurally by eliminating flooding and congestion. The game was pure magic to watch when it was ‘man on
man’. We need to get back to the spirit of the game, only better. Bring back the biff too! To be different enough to register,
there are many rule changes I’d make to ensure huge crowds and a fantastic spectacle, but I don’t want to let the Vic
@rseholes stymie future plans by reading ‘em here.

The ‘hybrid’ we could copyright and that I’d love to see us play might upset a few bleeding heart purists, so I’ll leave
discussion on changes to the people. After all, it’s YOUR game. Do you love it enough to save it ?



Aaaahhh, that feels better !

[Q.]

Here's a thought...Archaic man-on-man rubbish is redundant and won't win premierships.

[Q.]

The flooding in the SANFL is worse than it ever was in the AFL.

True, but give it time and SANFL coaches will teach their players game-plans that will destroy the basic flood. IMO, this is underway already.