SA FOOTY PHILosophy - 2009 #2 : HOLD THE NIGHT VISION!

[PhilH]

MAIN STORY – ANZAC DAY A TEST ON MANY FRONTS

This weekend it’s the Anzac Day round and with April 25 falling on a Saturday, three league matches will be played.

Out of respect to those that fought for us, sport on Anzac Day does not commence until after 12 noon which means the league game at Adelaide will start at 3pm.

This was to be same case at Woodville & Unley but with sunset at 5.40pm and dark cloudy skies predicted, the start time was moved 15 minutes earlier to 2.45pm so matches would finish around 5.10pm to 5.20pm

It’s a smart move not playing to 5.30pm as originally scheduled, for picking friend from foe on the field late in the final quarter would have been most interesting.

It will remain a challenge for the LifeFM radio crew who are covering the match at Unley. Situated at the front of the old Sturt stand they will be working hard to avoid any mix of rain with their electronic broadcasting equipment.

Lighting and staying undercover may not be an issue at Adelaide Oval but the Central v Glenelg clash will be a big test for a number of other reasons.

It’s an important day for the SACA who suffered a body blow recently with Port and Sturt both moved their upcoming Friday Night home games at the venue back to their home grounds.

According to the Magpies and Double Blues the issue is finances as the SACA has changed the financial model for hosting games for clubs at the oval. According to Magpies CEO Matthew Richardson they stood to loose $10,000 to $15,000 by keeping their game at Adelaide Oval.

Whilst the moves may be the best financially, from an attendance perspective it’s lose / lose for everyone.

Friday night games at Adelaide Oval are almost always popular and it is hard too see the same crowd turning up during an afternoon at a suburban oval. The move also pours some cold water over traditional SANFL plans to stretch its rivalry round over three days to maximize attendances during an AFL free weekend.

Now the venue may not even be used during the first three weeks of SANFL Finals. According to the Magpies release “The location of the SANFL finals will be discussed after the nine league clubs have received feedback about the Anzac Day match”.

So should things not go to plan (and given the renovations and weather what could possibly go wrong?) Saturday could well be the last time we see SANFL football at Adelaide Oval this season.

It will also be a test for the SANFL fans and Central / Glenelg supporters in particular to get right behind the Anzac Day event.

For the past nine seasons the league has rewarded the previous years Grand Finalists by scheduling them at Adelaide Oval on Anzac Day. In that time, six of the nine clubs have been involved with South, Port & Norwood the three to miss out.

In theory the Anzac Day game is the biggest minor round match of the season, however support in recent years has dropped to the point where the last three clashes have failed to break 5,000. Last year's clash between Central and North attracted just 4,393, the 12th highest crowd of the season.

Last year Port and Norwood made the case that as the rivalry of the SANFL they should be allocated the ANZAC Day game ensuring a larger crowd attends the event, similar to how Collingwood and Essendon have a mortgage over the AFL Anzac Day game at the MCG.

Following is a comparison of how the Anzac Day game matches the best attended Port v Norwood clash that season.

Last 10 years - Anzac Day Game against best Port v Norwood
2009 – Central v Glenelg @ Adel - ? / Port v Norwood best 6,572
2008 - Central v North @ Adel – 4,393 / Port v Norwood best 7,564
2007 – Eagles v Central @ Theb – 4,631 / Port v Norwood best 7,168
2006 – Central v Eagles @ Adel – 4,698 / Port v Norwood best 7,077
2005 – Central v Eagles @ Adel – 5,500 / Port v Norwood best 5,771
2004 – Central v West @ Adel – 6,215 / Port v Norwood best 5,894
2003 – Sturt v Central @ Adel – 8,694 / Port v Norwood best 6,626
2002 – Central v Eagles @ Adel – 5,150 / Port v Norwood best 9,051
2001 – Central v Eagles @ Adel – 6,834 / Port v Norwood best 10,565
2000 – Norwood v Sturt @ Adel – 9,029 / Port v Norwood best 5,449

The last time Port and Norwood clashed on Anzac Day (in 1998 after meeting in the 1997 Grand Final), 10,185 attended.

For mine I like the fact that teams need to “earn” the right to play on Anzac Day.

Historically the events of 1915 were the first steps in our nation exerting its own character as opposed to being just an outpost of the British Empire. One difference that soon emerged was a more classless egalitarian society when compared with life back in the mother country. In other words more people earn their rewards or success rather than inherit them.

If Port or Norwood want to play on the day so badly, get to the Grand Final.


One final impact from ANZAC Day being on a Saturday is the ABC TV coverage his weekend. For those who love their TV broadcasts please note there will be games telecast on both Saturday AND Sunday this weekend. This is because the league's broadcast deal has the network broadcasting a game every minor round plus Anzac Day, 24 in total before the finals. Given Norwood’s yo-yo efforts so far and West’s increased competitiveness the Sunday bonus will be an interesting game to watch.


SANFL BY THE NUMBERS

Stat of The Week

Matthew Duldig is building himself for something big, these are his goal scoring stats so far this season;
Rd 1 - 1.3 v Sturt
Rd 2 - 2.2 v Port
Rd 3 - 3.0 v Eagles
Rd 4 - 4.1 v West

Other trends

- Central’s demolition of South last Saturday was the Bulldogs 33rd win out of their last 35 games at Elizabeth. It was also their 11th straight against the Panthers at Hamra Homes. Is there a harder assignment in the SANFL than to beat the Bulldogs up north?

- Norwood have well and truly taken over Sturt’s mantle as the handball happy team in the SANFL. Not only do the Redlegs average 156 handballs per game, 31 more than the 2nd ranked Tigers, they also handball 48.2% of their possessions. Individually for most handballs, Nick Lower (71), Kieran McGuinness (54), Matthew Thomas (45) and Paul Puopolo (44) occupy positions 1-4 in the league, with James Gallagher (39 7th) and Tim Weatherald (36 =8th) also in the top 10.

- It’s official Port’s 0-4 start is their worst in recorded history (since 1907) but for those hoping to remain positive they should look back at North’s season in 1995. The Roosters started the year 0-4 with losses to the Eagles (3pts), Port (78pts), Central (25pts) and South (10pts). However in Round 5 at Prospect they claimed the points with 49 point victory over West. They went on to win 13 of their last 18 (22 game season) to finish the minor round 13-9. In the Elimination Final they defeated West by 20 points. Alas the run ended in the First Semi Final with a 11 point loss to Norwood.

- With the Bloods just 17 points away from a 3-1 start, West fans can only wonder what if their goal kicking accuracy wasn’t a league low 44.7%. Of the 47 behinds scored only 3 have been rushed the main culprits in front of the sticks being Ryan Willits (5 goals – 10 behinds), Jason Davenport (4-5), David Piasante (2-6) and Ryan Anderson (1-5).

Coming Up This Week

- Central and Glenelg clash on Anzac Day for the first ever time

- With 37 all time wins from 47 games the Eagles 78.7% winning rate against South is the highest of any current head to head matchup in the SANFL.

- North have won 9 of last 13 against Sturt but the Double Blues have won last 2 at Unley against North.

- Norwood have won the last 5 against West and last 4 v West at Richmond.

Crowd Watch

So far its steady as she goes with last weeks round attendance of 15,134 a total of 793 ahead of the 2008 Rd 4 attendance of 14,327 the total crowds thus far this year of 57,724 now just 625 behind 2008’s total of 58,349.

Average Attendance’s after Round 4, last five years
2009 – 3,608 per game
2008 – 3,647 per game
2007 – 3,438 per game
2006 - 3,275 per game
2005 – 3,061 per game

Anzac Day Rounds last four years
2008 – 12,415
2007 – 10,366
2006 – 15,156
2005 - 15,134

ONE FINAL THING ..

Not directly SANFL related, but if you get the chance, go to a dawn service tomorrow. I went to my first only three years back with my daughter thinking it was important for me to educate her on what Anzac Day means. As is so often the case, it was me who ended up learning the most.

[Dutchy]

Great work as usual Phil

[Big Phil]

Wonderful article, Phil...

A very enjoyable read...

[scott]

Great read Phil

[Aerie]

It’s an important day for the SACA who suffered a body blow recently with Port and Sturt both moved their upcoming Friday Night home games at the venue back to their home grounds.

According to the Magpies and Double Blues the issue is finances as the SACA has changed the financial model for hosting games for clubs at the oval. According to Magpies CEO Matthew Richardson they stood to loose $10,000 to $15,000 by keeping their game at Adelaide Oval.

Whilst the moves may be the best financially, from an attendance perspective it’s lose / lose for everyone.

Friday night games at Adelaide Oval are almost always popular and it is hard too see the same crowd turning up during an afternoon at a suburban oval. The move also pours some cold water over traditional SANFL plans to stretch its rivalry round over three days to maximize attendances during an AFL free weekend.

Now the venue may not even be used during the first three weeks of SANFL Finals. According to the Magpies release “The location of the SANFL finals will be discussed after the nine league clubs have received feedback about the Anzac Day match”.

So should things not go to plan (and given the renovations and weather what could possibly go wrong?) Saturday could well be the last time we see SANFL football at Adelaide Oval this season.

Interesting times ahead for the Adelaide Oval. I think the use of Adelaide Oval by the SANFL is one of the real highlights of the competition. It is one of the most famous grounds in the world and the finals at Adelaide Oval in September, particularly the double headers, are one of the highlights on my sporting calendar, even if Eagles aren't playing.

So can you tell us any more Phil? Have the Adelaide Oval increased costs to SANFL clubs to use the Oval and if so why? Does the SACA want/care if SANFL footy is played at the Oval? Perhaps they are putting all their energies in to attracting AFL?

The day we need to move finals away from the premier venues (Adelaide Oval & Footy Park) is the day our competition will drop another rung IMO.

As for the ANZAC Day match at Adelaide Oval, it has probably lost its appeal to the wider community. Unless you're a supporter of one of the clubs involved - do you really care about it? I think the concept of footy on ANZAC Day, with so many amateur and country clubs now playing on the day (whether it is a Saturday or not) as well as the big AFL game at the MCG has taken away from what was once a huge day on the SANFL calendar. Combine that with the complete lack of promotion by the SANFL and the mainstream media for the day in recent years and that is why the interest is down. You also don't see anywhere near as many of the ex-servicemen wander over to the footy - possibly because many who would've had a strong interest in the SANFL have passed away. I'd say most would stay in the Pub and watch the AFL game on TV.

[JK]

Fantastic article Phil

[Sojourner]

Love your articles as always BP!

Despite being a huge fan of night SANFL games, I do support the decision of Port and Sturt to move the game based around the costs being charged by the SACA (funny how history repeats itself). It needs to be remembered that both of these sides are facing the most problems financially at the moment and both club administrations are working hard to make the clubs viable in the current financial climate which can hardly be easy.

That said though, it needs to be recognised and accepted to thsse point where it is made to happen by the SANFL administration, that Night Football is the future for SANFL football and that putting on night matches always increases the attendances and sometimes by 25% although plenty of those statitistics are available if you go looking!

SANFL night footy is our chance to really do something towards increasing interest in the SANFL in the wider community, win interested supporters at night matches and they will begin to filter through on Saturday Afternoons on other occasions.

We cant however cop massive fees to play at Adelaide and we as a competition must explore other options and not just talk about other options but physically go and take action on the issue.

The Glenelg FC are working very hard to get the all clear from the council for their lights project. The SANFL needs to get involved in this and stop being a passive observer in the process. The issue that has bogged down the project is that some councillor / s wish to see the project having a component of Green Power which the club cant afford as the project is already overextended. The SANFL probably cant pay for Solar Panels at the Bay Oval as it would financially advantage one club over the others, yet what they could do is get with the times anyway and place some at Football Park and maybe cut a deal with the Holdfast Council where they allocate a % of the carbon credits to the City of Holdfast Bay which no doubt will solve the problem fairly quickly as it will meet their criteria for cutting of greenhouse emmissions albeit in another area, yet still cutting pollution at Torrens Island which is the objective anyway.

Secondly the SANFL need to get onto the front foot and back the project with a grant to get the lights project completed at Thebarton Oval. Its a neutral near city central venue so no one club is advantaged over another, it might assist the SAAFL, yet I am sure that the SANFL do that already anyway so what is the difference which area the funding goes towards. If Port played Sturt at Thebarton on a Friday Night, no doubt it would be packed out, so its objective achieved.

I am more than a little sick of the SANFL ignoring the issue or giving the impression that they are ignoring the issue of more SANFL venues being made available for Night Football. Their responsability as the leadership of the SANFL is to increase interest in the SANFL and we as Members and Supporters have a right to expect to see the results of that, especially when proven opportunities are available to make it so!

[Thiele]

Love your work Phil

[Ash59]

A nice article Phil. Yes, I think as a general rule only the clash between the previous year's grand finalists should be played on Anzac Day. However, maybe there's room for an exception when it falls on a Saturday.

If I recall, back in my younger days, in the round which included Anzac Day, all reserves matches commenced at 12.01pm. The first two quarters were normal time. The 3rd and 4th quarters were shortened so that the game finished at 2.13pm, so that the league could commence at 2.20pm. No problem with darkness then. Of course these days the league warm up is such that a greater time period is required between the conclusion of the seconds and the commencement of the league game, however I don't know why the games have to start any later than 2.30pm.

[Squawk]

Love your articles as always BP!

Another case of Phil confusion?

Very thought provoking as always, PhilH.

[Dirko]

Lighting and staying undercover may not be an issue at Adelaide Oval but the Central v Glenelg clash will be a big test for a number of other reasons.

The biggest test was the PA system. Has SACA issued any apology or reason for the reason is stuffed it up ?