Chris Davies Interview - with Chris Kendall from 'Sportsbeat'.

DRIVING THE SANFL FORWARD

Stepping into the hottest seat in local football brings many challenges, but for former Woodville/West Torrens CED Chris Davies, the challenge is one he faces with the same relish as he stood up to the quicks in his 25 game first class Sheffield Shield career.

With a tumultuous off-season, Davies would be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by the wave of issues thus far, but he views all of them as an opportunity to help move the SANFL safely through this period and emerge stronger. Plenty of discussion has ensued about the costs for families of attending SANFL. While children under 18 are free, the cost of $14 per adult has been noted as a factor for families reducing their attendance, particularly when the costs of car parking, catering and other aspects of a day at the game are considered, and many fans are calling for a reduction in ticket prices.

“When compared to the likes of attending other forms of entertainment, such as the cinema ($15 - $20 for adults), or sport such as the NBL ($27 for adults), we feel that the SANFL still represents sound value for money” Davies noted. “In addition, the clubs also present many entertainment options during the match to add to the atmosphere that the Family Friendly Areas promote strongly. In saying that, we keep these areas under constant review to ensure that we continue to present a high quality product to meet family budgets.”

Grand Final tickets moving to $30, with a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children at $60, leads to whether the prices for the premier match of 2013 may also be reviewed. “Given the game features the two best teams of the season, at what will be the last major football game staged at Football Park, we expect a large number of fans to take this opportunity, particularly with the SANFL being committed to playing finals, apart from the grand final (Adelaide Oval), at suburban grounds in 2014.”

West Adelaide coach Andrew Collins flagged the issue of whether it may be beneficial for some clubs to consider sharing home grounds to reduce costs. While there are some grounds that would find the extra traffic difficult due to hosting cricket and baseball in summer, “this is something that the clubs need to be driving, rather than the SANFL” stated Davies. “While there are certainly opportunities to save money, it is ultimately the responsibility of the clubs to take the initiative to look at ways to cut their costs. We will always encourage them, however, to look at different ways to shape their business models in all areas, to maintain their viability economically – and that is beyond just ground management. Many clubs have restructured their models over the years to success and that is something that is more crucial now more than ever in this economic environment.”

At the 2013 SANFL Media Launch, Central District coach Roy Laird noted the number of fringe players leaving SANFL clubs for much higher paid opportunities in country and regional leagues, but as Davies mentions, “this has been happening for years, unfortunately. While it may be more noticeable now due to the numbers of players, it is an issue that has always faced clubs. At an SANFL level, however, we will be requesting the Community Football Board to strongly assess the existing Approved Player Point System (where all incoming players to a country/regional club are assigned points on a zero-to-five scale, based on their AFL, SANFL, or other regional/country league experience, with the club allocated a total of ten to fifteen points, based on previous season ladder positions), with the view to making the current system fair all round”


NEXT WEEK: Whether mergers are on the agenda, the position on the possibility of a tenth team, the future of media coverage for SANFL and the AFL reserves issue.

Good work, CK. A good read, as always. Look forward to next week.

“this is something that the clubs need to be driving, rather than the SANFL” stated Davies. “While there are certainly opportunities to save money, it is ultimately the responsibility of the clubs to take the initiative to look at ways to cut their costs. We will always encourage them, however, to look at different ways to shape their business models in all areas, to maintain their viability economically –

I struggle with this bit somewhat.

Whilst yes Clubs are stand alone financial entities, and have their own legal responsibilities, the sanfl should be doing more than just encouraging them in what ever endeavours are looked at.

The sanfl is the body best placed to facilitate collective schemes or bring clubs to the table to discuss things where sharing any type of resources are concerned.

...and the second one.

“this has been happening for years, unfortunately. While it may be more noticeable now due to the numbers of players, it is an issue that has always faced clubs.

That doesn't make it right in my view. Whether reviewing the player points system will make a difference, who knows? He doesn't say how that would interract with the sanfl. However, the issue is mostly about the money and time commitment disparity between sanfl and country footy. I would like to hear words and leadership from the sanfl on how they might go about player retention schemes in trying to keep blokes in the sanfl for as long as possible. You can't just crawl under a rock and say it is the clubs' problem.

I think you have both systems muscling each other for position, rather than working together and all because the AFL have forced them both to scrap for whatever crumbs they cast off instead of looking after all tiers of footy.

i do agree with your sentiments there Chambo.

more, stronger leadership is needed.
will be interesting to read about the afl reserves

Chambo for president, i agree with those points