SANFL Supporting Country Footy

[Liquid Confidence]

AFter a recent trip to WA for work, I was discussing country footy with a colleague over there. I believe they have the best set-up for Rep Footy.

They have a carnival based in Perth (played at all the WAFL grounds) starting on a Thursday anf finishing with GF's on Sunday.
They dont combine Asscociations into zones, so every player is respresenting their own comp.

They have divisions 1,2,3 and a Colts division
Four or five associations per division
Play a game each on Thurs and Fri
Top two teams play of in GF

The same could be done here in SA
Except perhaps games could be Wed Thurs and GF's on Sat (the Div 1 GF a curtain raiser to an AFL game)
Last in Div 1 goes down to Div 2 the following year while the Div 2 winner goes up to Div 1 etc.

This would also give bragging rights to an association for 12 months to say they are the best country league going around!
Every association would have a general bye for the weekend.

I did question about it being played midweek, players taking work off etc, but was informed it has always been like that in WA and worked well, it would only be 3 days off work, and most associations stay in town together as a group.

For this to work it must be supported by the SANFL. Making league grounds available for the 3 days and strongly suggesting the SANFL Clubs support the areas that provide lots of talent to their clubs. It will also become a breeding ground for SANFL clubs to see more young kids strutting their stuff!

Again it is successful in WA and someone in the country footy thread suggested Vic run a similar structure, so why can we make a change for the better.

Fabulous idea I think.