And that leads to an interesting question ... do people support a club or a competition?

From my pre-media days I certainly was more concerned about HOW my team played, rather that WHO my team played.

I no longer feel any love or joy for the SANFL and South Australian football as a whole.
I still hope my club wins but will not be supporting it financially.
So it was with raised eyebrows I received the latest email from the club (admittedly written by a CEO who was not in the chair when the fateful decision was made) reaching out to members:

"What can we do to make Glenelg supporters Glenelg Football Club members? We need to make a Glenelg Football Club membership a desired commodity. We need to provide a member with more benefits and a great experience every time they visit the facility. We need to make our members feel they have ownership of the venue (which they effectively do), so they continue to support it, win or lose, 52 weeks a year."

What can you do? You can give them a voice and listen to them when they speak.

This horse has bolted.

And that leads to an interesting question ... do people support a club or a competition?

From my pre-media days I certainly was more concerned about HOW my team played, rather that WHO my team played.


Just a thought for those who don't like the changes to the competition. Whilst it's fine to make your thoughts known on sites like this one, the only way you can influence the decisions that are made by your club is to:
- be a member and make sure your voice is heard
- get involved in your club ... there are many ways to do this
- stand for your Board and make the sacrifices (both time and money) that these people have to make to serve your club


Respect your stance and your opinion Dedja.
But: I was (and still am for now) a member. My voice was heard and ignored.
Standing for the board is pointless. Joe Tripodi was President of arguably the most powerful and successful club in the competition yet couldn't stop what happened because he didn't have any support from the rest of his board or enough other clubs.

You'll have to forgive me if I find it a bit rich my club is now working on engaging with its members ...

I thought this might have been more appropriate

Games attended: 0
Membership dollars spent, as promised: 0

Won't be back until those AFL $#%# are gone and quite prepared for that to be never.
Pour what's left of my love of footy into my boy's two teams now.
Thanks a lot to everyone who had the best interests of SA football at heart.
What a farce.

Congratulations to 2014 SANFL Premiers Norwood.

As for Sunday's exhibition against an AFL reserves team, would like to see the reserves team win, just to underline to everyone what a farce the competition has become.

As long as enough people are offended and outraged, there remains a glimmer of hope that somewhere down the track, normal service will be resumed.

This won't be a popular viewpoint but I have no sympathy for the SANFL clubs.
They made their beds 18 months ago when they let the Crows and Power walk all over them.
The SANFL is now a reserves competition and is being treated as such by the AFL.

Had a look in the Sunday Mail today to find some match previews.

Found some two page spreads on the local arsehole teams in the Victorian league. Found some whole-page articles given over to matches between interstate teams in the Victorian league; several of these in the second half of the sport liftout, behind the race details. A couple of opinion pieces by native South Australians on the state of the Victorian league. Results of U/18 matches tucked away on pg 52 among results from the suburban leagues. Ben Hook's sad excuse for a column.

No SANFL preview.

A full round of games being played on the Sunday, and not one word about it in the print media. Not even a recognition of "today's games" under the ladder on page 29.

Is this the "increased media exposure" that our club delegates swore would be forthcoming once the garbage teams were admitted into the league?

We all knew what would happen and so it has proved.
And now , the reality is the SANFL no longer even warrants much of the space it is getting. An aggregate crowd for the round of just over 7000 proves that.
It is now Messenger fodder and not much else.
It still has a small cult following but that will continue to wane.
Not enough people give a $h1t.
Leigh, John, Brenton, Steven, Rob, Keith, David, Joe, Nick, Bohdan, Kurt etc ... well done to you all.

I dont care about what the standard is like.

If my favourite football team plays in a comp with integrity ill be there every week.

100%. Just want to be able to support my team in a pure competition that is not compromised by two self-serving clubs who can't see past their own noses.
The standard will never return to the glory days ... but give us an even playing field and we'll all come back.
Great post to by JK regarding age of top up players.
There would be hope still for the League, if it were not for the deaf and blind men still running the competition and many of its clubs.

There's a few people here who get it. Plenty of other SANFL clubs have cried poor and been saved by rattling the tins. But Glenelg is the first one to hit the skids, having betrayed its members and as part of a competition drowning in apathy. I seriously doubt there are enough people who'll dig deep enough into their pockets to save a side so they can go and watch them play four games against AFL reserves teams per year. The competition is not like it was, it's not what we want and I doubt it ever will be again. I suspect Glenelg will disappear, And they won't be the last ones. You reap what you sow in this world and those responsible at the Bay are going to have to live with that.