SANFL V AFL

[Dutchy]

the flooding and cluster zones that Central employ are very AFLish

Quite ironic coming from a Glenelg supporter. Based on yesterdays performance, it was Glenelg who were employing a very heavy flood....

incorrect, I didnt see Glenelg flood all finals series, however I did see Centrals do it, plus they used the cluster very effectively to restrict our switch of play which worked well against Sturt...

and if you say they didnt flood how do you explain Schell in defence for the last 10 mins of the 2nd 1/4?

and BTW and Im not saying there is anything wrong with it, it works beautifully

[Apachebulldog]

Most of us footy purists on this site have been saying this for years, SANFL is real hard footy, the trouble with AFL is, there is too much rule tampering to try and make the game faster and it has also been sanitised for the commercial market if you like this type of style go for it.

However myself and thousands of other fans have lost interest in the AFL.

Albeit saying all this i must admit the Hawks GF was back to hard real footy, maybe its the Doggy connection with Clarkson,Dewy ,Guerra and other hard nuts in the side great to watch the physicality of it .

So really there is only one AFL game a year to watch and that is GF.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FlyingHigh]

Most of us footy purists on this site have been saying this for years, SANFL is real hard footy, the trouble with AFL is, there is too much rule tampering to try and make the game faster and it has also been sanitised for the commercial market if you like this type of style go for it.

However myself and thousands of other fans have lost interest in the AFL.

Albeit saying all this i must admit the Hawks GF was back to hard real footy, maybe its the Doggy connection with Clarkson,Dewy ,Guerra and other hard nuts in the side great to watch the physicality of it .

So really there is only one AFL game a year to watch and that is GF.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good post Apache. It is certainly not the players in the AFL that don't have ticker or guts (apart from one or two!!), and the hardness of the Hawks in the GF made it good to watch

[therisingblues]

Of course the form of the Power and the Crows would have a little to do with this renaissance. Don't exclude Glenelg's sudden appearance out of the wilderness either.
If both Port and Crows made the finals and then the Dogs and Eagles played off in the SANFL grand final, I wonder how many of these converts would still be watching SANFL in favour of AFL.
Obviously I don't include the likes of Mal, Bayman etc. in this, as they are not converts. They are just SANFL followers like myself that have become more sick of the contrived AFL, regardless of who is at the top.

[Strawb]

Living in Melbourne I would go see the storm play over an AFL except Geelong and that is only if i have free tickets. I don't have much time for the VFL because it is the afl reserves and most of the time they want more to go than an SANFL game. I miss being in Adelaide and seeing Westies but I try to make it over for one game a season.

[Macca19]

In SA are the crowds going up or down ?
PP crowds are dropping ?
WHY ?

Not just our crowds thanks. The Crows crowds dropped 1300 per game this year, despite having a better year than last year and a heap of young guns coming through and had a dissapointing finals crowd.

People like BAYMAN/MAL/ANNA/RICK are SANFLing
How many others are SANFLing and turning off AFL

Whilst guys like bayman and yourself are obviously true blue SANFL supporters for a long period of time....lets see if 'anna' continues to go down the bay if Glenelg have a dissapointing year next year. Its very easy to jump on a side when they win 12-13 games in a row. Its easy to drop off a side when everyone predicts you're gonna finish bottom 4.

I go to both leagues as much as I can. As far as im concerned, if you are passionate about a club who plays at AFL level, then it shouldnt matter how crap their gameplan is.

This year I moved to the country and couldnt afford to drive down each weekend so only managed to go to about 6 games of each. Previously, Id get to 10-12 Power games a year and somewhere from 14-18 Magpies games depending on work, birthdays etc. Hopefully next year, i can afford to come down more often and see 12+ maggies games again.

I enjoy the athleticism of the AFL and seeing the best players in the country run around. I also love watching my club play footy - no matter what shit they play at the time.

The thing I love most about the SANFL is the atmosphere. I love watching the reserves so I ge there at 11 and watch the whole reserves games, you can get close at the breaks, you can see the kids coming through each week and see how they justify the changes the next week, there is actually opposition supporters there who you can argue with, banter with, call an idiot, have a laugh etc. and the style of football is one for the footy tragics. Proper contests, pure footballers showing their magic, less negative plays - flooding etc...its a throwback to the pre-professionalism era and its great to watch.

Not everyone will love this style of footy, and those kids born post-AFL era may not enjoy it or have any real attachment to an SANFL club which makes me sad. When I have kids, ill be making sure they have just as much, if not more love for local footy than anything else.

[Dutchy]

lets see if 'anna' continues to go down the bay if Glenelg have a dissapointing year next year. Its very easy to jump on a side when they win 12-13 games in a row. Its easy to drop off a side when everyone predicts you're gonna finish bottom 4.

the crowds have been up at Glenelg for 3 years now, not just this year

IMO AFL is great to watch on TV (or watch live in Melbourne) SANFL is great in the flesh

[Sojourner]

How many others are SANFLing and turning off AFL

Add me to your list Mal! This year was the first year that I did not attend an AFL game at all, yet got to several South Adelaide games and even a Friday night Norwood v Eagles game at the Parade!

I dont have a problem as such with the AFL although now that I am in a situation where I now have young children under 2 It is a lot easier to go to the Family Friendly area and set up rather than having to squish into the seats at Football Park with all the required paraphenalia!

Perhaps for me though the real issue is that I have always been a South Adelaide supporter / member and that South is and will only ever be the number one side that I barrack for out of all the various sporting codes! This year some of the AFL games that I enjoyed the most were Essendon games when Alwyn Davey (Recruited from South) got a game - after having followed him closely at South and knowing that he was something pretty special!

Perhaps another thing that also competes with the AFL is the EPL, one of the ironic benefits of having gotten Foxtel to watch AFL is the number of English Premier League Soccer matches made available and I have to confess to having watched EPL games over AFL matches at times!

[Dirko]

I love watching Carlton play in Melbourne, but not so much when they venture to AAMI. Why ? Easy 90 percent of fans supporting one side
makes for a sterile environment.

The SANFL is great in which the crowd figure is usually 50/50 and hence the banter, laughs and good old fashion rivalries are joined by both teams....

[Squawk]

Next year will be my 30th consecutive year as a member of my club. I can't help but feel a little bit good about myself and many others on this site who have stuck by the SANFL since the inception of the Crows and the Power. The SANFL offers so many things that the AFL doesn't or can't, and is definitely a great place for the purists and the recreational observers. I'm over the moon if people are coming back or getting on board. It's been mentioned many times in the context of Glenelg, that much of their crowd resurrection has been attributed to those who gre up with SANFL now bringing their kids back to the local league games and I hope this is a phenomenon that spreads across and throughout all 9 clubs. I'd love to see the day when the SANFL was having to face the dilemma of continued market growth at SANFL level and status quo at AFL level.

For all the SANFL loyalists out there - bloody good on ya and keep spreading the word about our comp. Its amazing how many times I have been approached at work or in the street as this season goes on by people wanting to know more about the comp. I've heard people waiting at traffic lights start talking SANFL, and even seen people wearing SANFL scarves to work on cold mornings. The more the loyalists spread the word to those that are vulnerable to or on the cusp of conversion, the more the comp will grow and grow. Maybe next year the SANFL could program a "Back to the SANFL" round when Crows or Power have the bye and the other local AFL team is playing away - and see if we can really pull some big crowds.

[Dirko]

Great post squawk. The "bandwagon" thing is good for footy, and everyone should be encouraging all those who don't go any more to get back next year and watch some good, hard, accessible fun footy...

SANFL>>>>>>>>>AFL

[Hondo]

I support and enjoy both comps so I don't see why we need to make it a one "V" the other

I never see the SAAFL fans trying to do them V SANFL threads

One of the reasons I enjoy both AFL and SANFL is that it's the same sport In recent times when I have gone to an SANFL game I haven't left the ground feeling that I saw a form of game vastly different from the AFL at all. So I never understand this debate except where people talk about the community and grass-roots feel of the SANFL, etc. That I understand and agree with and I hope lots more people get back to the SANFL next year.

But in terms of what happens on the field .... I went yesterday and watched CD set up zones that spread the whole length of the ground and, when they could, have 13 of their 18 players in Glenelg's forward 50. I saw Glenelg play loose men in defence and do a lot of side-ways kicking to keep possession. And you know what .... I didn't give a stuff. I don't see it as a criticism of either side. I take my hat off to Roy Laird for being able to implement modern tactics at SANFL level so successfully.

[Gozu]

The SANFL is better to watch than the AFL, true. In the SANFL you see harder contests, kicking to packs, a more free flowing game, less flodding, less BS soft free kicks, less keepings off with a few guys kicking it around to each other in the back half. While the AFL still has more skiled players these days the most important aspect to playing AFL footy is being able to run all day. You see a lot of players in the AFL who can't kick for sh!t but as long as you can run all day you get a gig.

I'm actually shocked that so many people still go to AFL games. It's a bastardised version of the game. I still follow the Crows and can usually drum up the enthusiasm to watch them on the box but don't bother with the other seven games. Just the Crows and whoever they happen to be playing for me where as I can quite easily sit there and watch a neutral SANFL game.

Not only would I not go to an AFL game for free but I'd need to be paid to attend. Glorified circle work. Pure crap.

[Rik E Boy]

The SANFL is better to watch than the AFL, true. In the SANFL you see harder contests, kicking to packs, a more free flowing game, less flodding, less BS soft free kicks, less keepings off with a few guys kicking it around to each other in the back half. While the AFL still has more skiled players these days the most important aspect to playing AFL footy is being able to run all day. You see a lot of players in the AFL who can't kick for sh!t but as long as you can run all day you get a gig.

I'm actually shocked that so many people still go to AFL games. It's a bastardised version of the game. I still follow the Crows and can usually drum up the enthusiasm to watch them on the box but don't bother with the other seven games. Just the Crows and whoever they happen to be playing for me where as I can quite easily sit there and watch a neutral SANFL game.

Not only would I not go to an AFL game for free but I'd need to be paid to attend. Glorified circle work. Pure crap.

LMAO. One confused person!

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

REB, surely you realise that watching only the Crows game each week (and only on TV) makes you an expert on the AFL and gives you license to make sweeping generalizations. You don't have to watch a sport to be able to say how bad it is

[SnappyTom]

...

The SANFL, although I prefer the style of the game, is stagnating due to the dominance of one club. There are at least 6 clubs in the competition that really has no hope of a flag in the next 5 years, and after the current finals season, maybe 8.

Somehow we have to capture the imagination of people in the south, get Westies up and running, and have supporters of Port Adelaide and Norwood feeling as though they have legitimate chances of competing for a flag...

Well, you make a point that I can't follow. We all hated Port during their dominant times, but the fact is that this last decade (1999-2008) so far eight of the nine SANFL teams have played in a Grand Final.
Port 1
Norwood 1
Sturt 1
West Adelaide 1
North Adelaide 1
Glenelg 1
Eagles 5
Centrals 9

Of those, North, West and Glenelg have also won wooden spoons.

FWIW (and I'm not knocking your opinion or your post), that means that we've seen great participation by all (bar South) SANFL teams within a 10 year period, and the rise and fall of a number of clubs a feature of 'hope springs eternal'...

ST...

[Dutchy]

Nice to see that the Dogs/Glenelg game drew nearly 3000 more than the last local Showdown!

Who would have ever thought that a Dogs/Bays game would be more popular than Port/Crows?

[Gozu]

REB, surely you realise that watching only the Crows game each week (and only on TV) makes you an expert on the AFL and gives you license to make sweeping generalizations. You don't have to watch a sport to be able to say how bad it is

I've seen enough VFL/AFL in my lifetime thanks. It's only the last few years that I've stopped watching the neutral AFL games.

[therisingblues]

I support and enjoy both comps so I don't see why we need to make it a one "V" the other
I never see the SAAFL fans trying to do them V SANFL threads

One of the reasons I enjoy both AFL and SANFL is that it's the same sport In recent times when I have gone to an SANFL game I haven't left the ground feeling that I saw a form of game vastly different from the AFL at all. So I never understand this debate ..etc.

In the words of Rambo, "They drew first blood not us."
In the good old days I enjoyed watching the spectacle of the then VFL on the ABC program "The Winners".
These days however, the AFL is a threat to the SANFL. Rule changes, imposed salary caps, a media campaign which constantly makes false claims about its pet VFL comp over the SANFL, blocks on any SANFL bids to expand, not to mention how it dominates the media at our expense.
So in the event that we do make up a little ground on them I think it deserves to be stated in those terms. They are forever trying to take us down a peg or two, let the word spread that this year they failed.

[spell_check]

I support and enjoy both comps so I don't see why we need to make it a one "V" the other
I never see the SAAFL fans trying to do them V SANFL threads

One of the reasons I enjoy both AFL and SANFL is that it's the same sport In recent times when I have gone to an SANFL game I haven't left the ground feeling that I saw a form of game vastly different from the AFL at all. So I never understand this debate ..etc.

In the words of Rambo, "They drew first blood not us."
In the good old days I enjoyed watching the spectacle of the then VFL on the ABC program "The Winners".
These days however, the AFL is a threat to the SANFL. Rule changes, imposed salary caps, a media campaign which constantly makes false claims about its pet VFL comp over the SANFL, blocks on any SANFL bids to expand, not to mention how it dominates the media at our expense.
So in the event that we do make up a little ground on them I think it deserves to be stated in those terms. They are forever trying to take us down a peg or two, let the word spread that this year they failed.

LIke the NT team going to the QAFL for starters.
-Logistics? It's slightly closer to Adelaide from Darwin than Brisbane
-Seasons? The QAFL and SANFL compete around the same time
-Competition? What would NT footy benefit more from - better comp, better crowds?

Bottom line? The AFL doesn't want the SANFL to be any better than it is.

Salary cap.
Needs to be about $500K, so many players retire too early or leave to play with an amateur team that gives more coin.
I understand why it needs to be there, otherwise it will end up being a case of a battle of pokie revenues that will bring more success. But raise the cap high enough (but not enough to end up with the pokie machines deciding the matches) to retain players and the AFL will threaten to cut junior funding.

It is definitely them against us.