National 2nd Tier Competiton Discussion

[Dutchy]

Surely it cant be an 8 league comp, that would be 7 matches, not enough for the broadcaster and not enough to create enough interest IMO. No discussion where the matches would be played I see, dare say it wont be appearing at suburban grounds though

[Gravel]

Scary thought, is this just the first step in setting up an AFL reserves competion ? Set up the comp and then try to match up with AFL clubs

I am sure it is all linked. I have read that the AFL vision is to have four 2nd tier competitions of similar standard and all AFL clubs will have a reserves side play in these competitions - SANFL, VFL, WAFL and the new Northern league (QLD and NSW).

[zipzap]

Just another attempt to undermine the integrity of State competitions by the AFL, no doubt!!

If the AFL are kept at arms length and the motives are pure, I think it's got the potential for doing the complete opposite Reddeer - local clubs on a national stage with minimal impact to the home & away season. IMO that can only be a winner in terms of attracting people to the SANFL. A bigger worry is the Crows getting a reserves team in...that scares the hell out of me

[PhilH]

Personally I dont mind seeing my SANFL club play in a competition beyond just the SANFL premiership season.

Our clubs exist to play football and win premierships. Playing and succeding in a higher level comp should be encouraged.

To be the best state league club in Australia would be a great title to win.

Also makes the Elimination Final a big game with the winner qualifying for next years tourney, wheas as we all know mostly its now teams making up the numbers with only 2 premiers from the past 37 games.

I think we also miss opprtunities to promote the SANFL in the pre-season at country venues (aka like old Escort Cup)

Yes there will be extra games, yes teams will have to balance priorities ... so thats what makes these things interesting to follow. It will be most interesting if you make the semi finals / finals in late July / August with SANFL finals not too far behind.

Maybe get Central, Norwood, Eagles and Glenelg to start their season a week early (week between AFL NAB final & 1st round) would be a great start to given them flexibility during this time.

Scheduling will be the interesting bit. 16 teams playing 15 games over 15 weeks April - August. If its one game on a Saturday Afternoon will they put a break between the semi finals and the championship game?

The interstate comp would have to do its draw 1st, then the state leagues schedule their byes around it.

Early on it should be a no-brainer aligning a clubs 1st bye with their 1st round game.

It gets tricker for semi finals / finals which would only be a couple of weeks apart. You would need to have2 teams with a bye for each of the semi finals and do you shcedule all 4 teams with a bye on Grand Final Day in case one of them makes it?

[Zathrus]

So how many byes will the SANFL have to program. A club in a sixteen team knockout comp can potentially play 4 games, on top of their state league commitments. And hoping their byes match the next team they are going to play. The SANFL programme will need to be fluid and I hope it doesn't lead to teams being forced to play a catch up game mid week.

[Hazydog]

Great post Phil! Just think of the benefits of national exposure from a sponsorship perspective for starters.
I hope the SANFL igonore their conservative tendancies and grab this opportunity by the horns, despite the fact that there will be some logistical hurdles to overcome.
I Like your idea of the competing teams, be it 2 or 4, starting the season a week earlier. Maybe those 4 teams could also shift one of their SANFL games to a mid week fixture under lights to free up another Saturday if required?
Some will possibly see this whole concept as a disruption the season proper but I see it as an amazing opportunity for the second tier of Footy in Australia to raise its profile and show the rest of Australia what they have been missing out on due to the monopoly the AFL has had on national broadcasting.

[Hazydog]

"The SANFL programme will need to be fluid and I hope it doesn't lead to teams being forced to play a catch up game mid week."

Why not Zathrus? We have shown before when playing games either before or after Anzac Day, (when they have fallen mid week), that a 3 or 4 day preparation can be overcome. Besides, a mid week fixture under lights might be a big crowd puller with no other games being played that night.

And WHUFC, If the games were telecast on Foxtel, I'm sure the national exposure to sponsors alone would have the club soon embracing the concept - not to mention the official title of best state league club in Australia!

This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity that I dont believe the SANFL should ignore.

[Barto]

Surely it cant be an 8 league comp, that would be 7 matches, not enough for the broadcaster and not enough to create enough interest IMO. No discussion where the matches would be played I see, dare say it wont be appearing at suburban grounds though

If it's knockout, wouldn't that be a few more games than that?

[fish]

Surely it cant be an 8 league comp, that would be 7 matches, not enough for the broadcaster and not enough to create enough interest IMO. No discussion where the matches would be played I see, dare say it wont be appearing at suburban grounds though

If it's knockout, wouldn't that be a few more games than that?

Yep

[Barto]

On second thoughts, Dutchy is correct. Eight teams equals seven games

4x first round
2x second round
1 final.

[Dutchy]

Merged the 2 threads and changed the title.

[bayman]

my mum used to tell me never to accept or talk to strangers as they could be monsters, in this case while they're not a stranger as we know who they are, they are definately 'the monster' & i wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them & i fear while it 'looks good' they wouldn't be throwing money away unless they have something else in mind & i'd hate for us to get into bed with the afl & selling our soul to them

[doggies4eva]

my mum used to tell me never to accept or talk to strangers as they could be monsters, in this case while they're not a stranger as we know who they are, they are definately 'the monster' & i wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them & i fear while it 'looks good' they wouldn't be throwing money away unless they have something else in mind & i'd hate for us to get into bed with the afl & selling our soul to them

Well perhaps your mum should start posting on here. She might make more sense

[bayman]

my mum used to tell me never to accept or talk to strangers as they could be monsters, in this case while they're not a stranger as we know who they are, they are definately 'the monster' & i wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them & i fear while it 'looks good' they wouldn't be throwing money away unless they have something else in mind & i'd hate for us to get into bed with the afl & selling our soul to them

Well perhaps your mum should start posting on here. She might make more sense

read between the lines sherlock

[Squawk]

While I think this could be fantastic, it also scares the hell out of me. So the top four clubs play in this new comp for more money, otherwise why play. Players have to get more match payments for playing. So a separate payment structure aside from our current salary cap. Couldn't expect players to play additional games outside the SANFL for the same pay

So the clubs that don't play miss out on additional funds. The strong get richer.

I'm glad the dogs are top four at this time because I can see this hurting the current lower teams and the SANFL badly in the long run

It wouldn't surprise me if prizemoney had to be shared between participating clubs and the league, much like the Asian Football Championships when the Reds had to share prizemoney with the FFA.

The other thing I wonder is if the prizemoney was to be shared with the SANFL, if the likes of Port and the Crows then seek to make a reduced dividend payment to the SANFL clubs as a result.

[Squawk]

Also - will this spell the death of state footy between state leagues? It's already been basically eliminated at AFL level.

Financially, it would also be interesting to see if participating clubs can sell new guernsey sponsorships given it is a national comp with a national audience. It could almost be a semi-franchise thing like the IPL - we could see the likes of Ford wanting to sponsor Sturt for example, given Ford's AFL presence with Geelong and noting that Central has Holden already. I don't know if Gliderol is national, or "House Brothers", but how about "Coopers" sponsoring Norwood guernseys and "West End" sponsoring Glenelg guernseys?

[PhilH]

If this was to go ahead I personally think next year's State League gave v Vic in Melbourne on May 21st would be the last. (Hopefully the Foxtel cup has a WAFL club v TAS/QLD/NSW/ACT for this weekend.)

As you would know Squawk from our experiences in Perth last year, State League footy is almost dead anyway. They get 2K crowds (if that) in WA & Vic and 4K crowds in SA. We did not have a state game this year, did anyone notice or care ??

[spell_check]

Positives and negatives aside, if this goes ahead, I can't wait for our match - even if I have to travel to WA for it - I'm there!

[Aerie]

Using PhilH's seedings I put together a fixture for next year to see if it could work in with the SANFL season. With a little bit of flexibility, it shouldn't be hard. Other state leagues would need to do something similar.

challenge cup fixture.jpg (83.15 KiB) Viewed 1519 times

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

next year's State League gave v Vic in Melbourne on May 21st ?

Has that date actually been confirmed?