Divisions

[high flying flag]

I've been thinking a good way to get rid of the bye and invigorate the SANFL would be to establish a Divisional structure like in UK soccer. The top team could be promoted from the Amateur League to fill the tenth spot and each year after that. Then the bottom SANFL team drops back to Div 1 each year after the first. Obviously this would create some problems and the most obvious I can think of is the country leagues being left out so maybe some sort of playoff would be needed.

I think it would be great to see the SANFL show some innovation. The Darwin thing seems unlikely to happen since it hasnt already. It seems to me this could work well because the difference between Div 1 amateurs and poorer SANFL clubs is not really that enormous. In the UK the financial difference between second division clubs and top first division clubs is huge. As a pipedream it could be a precursor to the same thing happening with the AFL (IMHO what should have happened 20 years ago). My thinking is tha if it doesnt work at local level it would never happen nationally.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Bring back Woodville and West Torrens?

[Aerie]

That's an interesting thought. Would another club in the SANFL put extra pressure on the remaining clubs to survive though? How would Sturt go if Goodwood were another club in the SANFL or Eagles with Henley, Central with Salisbury North or West/Glenelg with PHOS Camden.

I do like the idea of promotion and relegation though. Keeps the season interesting for those teams stuck down the bottom of the ladder and gives the powerful Amateur league clubs something extra to aspire to.

[am Bays]

Divisions???? Gee I hate that concept, we have the greatest game in the world why pollute it with outmoded concepts from sports followed by supporters that haven't woken up to the greatest game in the world ours!!

One rather large reason why the division concept never took off in Australia and never will and that is Australia itself. TAkes three days to drive from top to bottom or four days east to West. Fours hours East to West in England 6 hour North to South.

Far easier for a bunch of soccer players to jump on bus and travel from Liverpool to Manchester or Sheffield Utd to Southampton than it would be for Coopooroo to fly to Hobart or Subiaco to fly to Werribee.....

The cost of flying 2nd to 4th division teams around the country would be astronomical relative to the income they could generate though sponsorship et al. It isn't viable for the AFL to have another 12 - 24 teams flying around this country even with their income generating streams as three of the four divisions would run at a loss. We don't have the population or the resources to support that, especially not 20 years ago before the airline industry was deregulated......

FWIW I would give any Div one ammo side a 5 goal start against Sturt (I say Sturt only because they are last at the minute) and I reckon Sturt would win by five goals. The reason being is that the Ammos are full of league and reserve hacks who want to chase the cheap bucks rather than do the hard fitness yards with a league club to play Reserves or League Football.

In other words they are soft in a footballing sense as they don't want to back themselves to be a league footballer and that sort of mentality doesn't cut it in a semi professional sporting league.

Yes some players at the Div 1 ammo level probably have the talent to cut it at SANFL league level but to be successful in any sport you have to be physically fit and mentally strong and on that count the average Div 1 ammo footballer is not even SANFL reserve grade standard let alone SANFL league standard

[high flying flag]

The cost of flying 2nd to 4th division teams around the country would be astronomical.


The reason being is that the Ammos are full of league and reserve hacks who want to chase the cheap bucks rather than do the hard fitness yards with a league club to play Reserves or League Football.

Tassie I musnt have been clear. I meant that low divisions would be state based with the AFL the only national based division.

Your second point is kind of why I think the concept has merit. If what you say is true then this concept might help fix the problem.

[am Bays]

Your second point is kind of why I think the concept has merit. If what you say is true then this concept might help fix the problem.

How??? Please Explain?? Seriously, by making the decision to go to the ammos a player is basically saying I don't wasnt to do the hard yards anymore I dont want to be an elite athlete and commit myself to 10 hours of training a week (Sun am, Mon Tue & Thu) I just want to do five hours (Tue & Thu). So how can they compete against players who are making that commitment??

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

For some players it is a realistic decision to go chase $$ in the country or the ammos because of work and family committments, they don't want to be league footballers and do that amount of preparation. I believe it is going to be unrealistic to expect players who two months ago were training twice a week to go to three nights a week for a pre-season starting in November and then train four days a week in competion because they had earlier made a conscious decision not to pursue that level of committment to SANFL footy. Or they had been told, look mate you are dedicated and are fit but you just aren't good enough to be a league footballer.

[TroyGFC]

I like the concept but how would it work with say Broadview Tigers and GLenelg Tigers playing with same jumpers, who keeps their identity? Also it would start to become harder for current SANFL teams to recruit players if other ametuer teams might have the chance to go up a level. After seeing MArion Rams clubrooms I do believe they have the facilities but probally not the players yet.

[drebin]

Amatuers in the SANFL - haven't we already got a roster for that role each year - the bottom placed team?:wink:

Seriously a SANFL side would thrash any amatuer team for starters - even North circa 2003 would have flogged the best amatuer team by 10-15 goals. Also has anyone considered the state of some of the grounds and changerooms in the amatuers or would they play on neutral venue for their home games?

It is a bit like the NTFL or Southport coming in - it's fantasy land. The interstate idea will not happen because of the prohibitive costs on all concerned. I "believe" some of the more powerful clubs want to go to an 8 team comp (however you achive that?) and do away with 17's and 19's and bring in an under 18 comp and have all three grades playing on the same day at the same oval. I think that is more of a realistic long term outlook/vision.

[am Bays]

Dreb you are scaring me, that is two post in two days that I find myself agreeing with you......

[drebin]

Dreb you are scaring me, that is two post in two days that I find myself agreeing with you......

Does that mean we have to be nice after next Sunday's game and agree on everything?

[am Bays]

Not on your life!!

[MightyEagles]

Adelaide Hawk, do you have a few million $$$ lying around the place. Cause it would cost millions of $$$ to upgrade Thebby up to league standard for about 9 games year in, year out. Then there's the Salary Cap and the wages of the workers at the club. Then finding a place for the Pokies.

[doggies4eva]

I think the idea's got merit. I think that competition leads to improvement so the issue of standards is a short term problem. After all my mighty doggies were pretty ordinary for a year or two and now look at them!

Regarding the NT putting up a team - I note that the NT govt is being asked to put up $900,000 for 2 AFL games in Darwin next year. I would much rather see that money put into establishing an NT team in the SANFL.

[firstblood]

with all the talk of a darwin side ...has anyone ever thought
of a combined broken hill team ???

[Aerie]

with all the talk of a darwin side ...has anyone ever thought
of a combined broken hill team ???

No.

[firstblood]

aerie...is that a no in who cares? i thought they had a pretty
good competition up there....just a thought.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Adelaide Hawk, do you have a few million $$$ lying around the place. Cause it would cost millions of $$$ to upgrade Thebby up to league standard for about 9 games year in, year out. Then there's the Salary Cap and the wages of the workers at the club. Then finding a place for the Pokies.

Someone asked how to get rid of the bye. I provided an option.

[high flying flag]

My feeling is that competition would ensure that no club that was a local rival to a current club would last in the SANFL because of poor crowds and attendances. This could provide a mechanism for a genuinely worthy club to establish itself in the SANFL market.

[heater31]

aerie...is that a no in who cares? i thought they had a pretty
good competition up there....just a thought.

with 4 teams in Broken Hill, i'd hardly call that good competition and beltings a regular feature

[giffo]

With travel being a big factor for teams and supporters with rising fuel costs, the option for a tenth team needs to be kept close to Adelaide with perhaps Mt. Barker, Murray Bridge, Golden Grove or Victor Harbor being options to base a side. Don't aks me about the logistics of it all but these are the growth population areas apart from north (Central's area) and the southern suburbs (South's turf).