SA Footy

Let's put life in SANFL pre-season, urges Jars
By ZAC MILBANK
02mar06

NORTH Adelaide coach Andrew Jarman believes the SANFL and its clubs should reconsider starting up a pre-season competition as early as 2007.

Describing the current trial game format as "boring", the forward-thinking mentor believes a tournament named after the league's greats is worth considering.
"We could have the cup named after some of our past SANFL champions," Jarman said.

"And with some decent prizemoney, it would ensure there would be some urgency in the pre-season competition.

"Having a proper pre-season competition would also give you momentum heading into the (premiership) season."









Jarman is mindful of the need for finance - chiefly from a major sponsor - to allow the concept to get off the ground.

"At the end of the day it comes down to finances," Jarman said. "Organising the draw also needs to be considered - we would need to get some clever people around the table to come up with a concept for 2007. There's no doubt the majority of clubs would support it and it would be good incentive for the players."

At least one other club has expressed similar interest - believing the idea would also boost the league's publicity - and is in talks with a potential sponsor.

SANFL football operations manager Glen Rosser said reintroducing a pre-season competition for the first time since 1994 had been discussed by the clubs without being pursued.

"That's been talked about before but there wasn't enough interest," Rosser said. "But if a club was willing to put a proposal on the table with a possible sponsor we would review it (at the SANFL general managers' meeting)."

Currently, the clubs play a minimum of two trial games across a four-week period with some teams forced to play multiple internal matches. West Adelaide has three.

"The current concept makes you (coaches) look at the younger players and you hide the real players until the (premiership) season," Jarman said.

"We need to have something different because the current format is boring to be quite honest."

Would be good to have a pre-season comp. like we used to have a few years back. Just need a sponser and some money.
How about each club plays 3 or 4 games with the top two play in the GF.

It would be good for the clubs and players/coaches, I reckon. However, I can imagine that the games may attract such a small crowd, that rather than giving the season a strong start, they would give fuel to the notion that the SANFL is dying, and that almost no one is interested in it anymore.

a perfect time to introduce a darwin based side.....makes it a
10 team pre-season comp...

Time for me to get back on my hobby-horse. A preseason knockout comp between the 32 teams comprising SANFL,WAFL,VFL & NT with bulk of games played as double headers with AFL preseason games - get the state leagues clubs playing before largish crowds is the only way those clubs can attract and maintain interest and sponsorship for the upcoming season. Also gives the Advertiser writers something decent and worthwhile to cover on the SANFL scene rather than meaningless trial matches.

Jars wants "clever people around the table" to work it out.
The SANFL wants the clubs to work it out.

With everyone wanting each other to work it out it looks like another dog chasing its own tail effort that will get nowhere.

Surely it'd be up to the SANFL to organise??

firstblood wrote:a perfect time to introduce a darwin based side.....makes it a
10 team pre-season comp...

i like this idea...it will give us an idea on how it could work in a regular season

Here's my idea for the format.

10 teams split into 2 groups of 5, Group A and Group B. The 10 teams will consist of the 9 SANFL clubs, and 1 Amatuer or Country League rep side.

4 weeks of round robin in each group.

1st Group A vs 1st Group B in Pre season GF.

To avoid the rest of the teams having a week off before season proper:
2nd A vs 2nd B
3rd A vs 3rd B
4th A vs 4th B
5th A vs 5th B

This way you can determine an order from 1st to 10th, and distribute prize money accordingly.

PS the Amatuer or Country Rep side can be decided by either taking turns, or they qualify for it the season before.

HeartBeatsTrue wrote:Here's my idea for the format.

10 teams split into 2 groups of 5, Group A and Group B. The 10 teams will consist of the 9 SANFL clubs, and 1 Amatuer or Country League rep side.

4 weeks of round robin in each group. 1st Group A vs 1st Group B in Pre season GF.

To avoid the rest of the teams having a week off before season proper:
2nd A vs 2nd B
3rd A vs 3rd B
4th A vs 4th B
5th A vs 5th B

This way you can determine an order from 1st to 10th, and distribute prize money accordingly.

PS the Amatuer or Country Rep side can be decided by either taking turns, or they qualify for it the season before.

this one too

More silverware fore Souths cabinet

LMAO

LOL Borat!! my suggestion was...

The same idea I've been pushing for a few years...hopefully now that someone more influential than me has suggested it, the SANFL might listen!

i dont disagree with the idea as long as we dont have to travel to elizabeff of noarlunga

I don't know the logistics of it, but how good would a preseason comp over 4 weeks be at Thebby Oval with 2 games on Friday Night followed by 2 games on a Saturday night?
Weather would be perfect for it.

HeartBeatsTrue wrote:Here's my idea for the format.

10 teams split into 2 groups of 5, Group A and Group B. The 10 teams will consist of the 9 SANFL clubs, and 1 Amatuer or Country League rep side.

4 weeks of round robin in each group.

1st Group A vs 1st Group B in Pre season GF.

To avoid the rest of the teams having a week off before season proper:
2nd A vs 2nd B
3rd A vs 3rd B
4th A vs 4th B
5th A vs 5th B

This way you can determine an order from 1st to 10th, and distribute prize money accordingly.

PS the Amatuer or Country Rep side can be decided by either taking turns, or they qualify for it the season before.

Just realised my 2 groups of 5 idea is carp. There would still be byes, and there would need to be 5 rounds of round robin not 4. Making the comp run for 6 weeks which I reakon is a week too long.

Unless shorten the lengths of the matches, (say 4x15min) and play mid week night games as well. The 5 rounds can be played over 3 weeks, with the GF being the following week. Therefore comp runs for 4 weeks.

Hmmm, I liked your NT idea a lot better Heart Beats True.
I reckon this Andrew Jarman bloke has done some good things for SA footy recently. Taking his squad up to the NT, just about personally invited the Territory to join the SANFL and now he's kicking around ideas to make the pre-season more interesting. The more positive forward-thinking talk revolving around the SANFL, the better.
If any of these ideas work then the SANFL will benefit.
Sturt was kicking around the "Champions of Australia" idea a little while back. Another great idea which got knocked on the head IMO. I reckon if North won the SANFL premiership, then Jars' would be the sort of bloke that'd say "Screw those that say it can't be done!" and then he'd take a squad to WA to play the WAFL premiers in a trial or something along those lines.
Well done on leading from the front Jars'!

HeartBeatsTrue wrote:Here's my idea for the format.

10 teams split into 2 groups of 5, Group A and Group B. The 10 teams will consist of the 9 SANFL clubs, and 1 Amatuer or Country League rep side.

4 weeks of round robin in each group.

1st Group A vs 1st Group B in Pre season GF.

To avoid the rest of the teams having a week off before season proper:
2nd A vs 2nd B
3rd A vs 3rd B
4th A vs 4th B
5th A vs 5th B

This way you can determine an order from 1st to 10th, and distribute prize money accordingly.

PS the Amatuer or Country Rep side can be decided by either taking turns, or they qualify for it the season before.

I think this idea is great! The Amateur side could be last years premier, reward the best amateur side going around with a tilt at an sanfl cup, plus they would love games building up to their season.

Good on ya Jars for bringing this up again, a preseason cup would be good for the comp i feel. Cant see it kicking off if the SANFL has to organise it all, as Wedgie said before, isnt that their job? Why should they expect clubs to organise something the SANFL controls.

Ok just read your more recent post and that may not work then. They need to do something though.

therisingblues well said mate, Jars is trying to bring life back into it, Sturt's idea was good too.. relive the old days which i missed out on. I hope we do win the flag and Jars follows your idea, another long weekend pissup , this time in Perth, sounds pretty good