The Standard of SANFL Football...Your views

since the induction of the two franchises into the SANFL, has the standard, dropped, lifted or plateaued ?

if it has lifted is it because of the two franchises ?

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my opinion is the overall standard has plateaued in that time but will add i think the ball movement & leg speed is quicker

your thoughts please....

I think pretty much the same as you Bayman. The game being what it is likely means the players are quicker and fitter than ever, but I don't think as skillful as years gone by.

Even if you take a snapshot of the league as it stands now compared to say 10 years ago, where are the equivalents of Gowans, Allan's, Alleways, Grima's, Sheedy's etc?

Not trying to knock the league, I for one am still highly interested, but since I started following it in 1980, IMHO the personnel quality has reduced each decade.

Another thing that hasn't helped in recent years (and without trying to make this an AFL bashing topic), is that 2 clubs worth of highly talented players were previously scattered among 8 clubs - Those 8 clubs lost ALL of those players without replacement, and they're now pooled among 2. I understand why it happens, and how it serves its purpose for those two clubs, but it has helped thin the quality of 8 lists.

Just my own persona thoughts.

The advent of GWS and Gold Coast to the AFL drained a lot of players from around Australia
By definition that means less available elite standard players in the SANFL

Scrappy wrote:The advent of GWS and Gold Coast to the AFL drained a lot of players from around Australia
By definition that means less available elite standard players in the SANFL

Yes good point, although the game should have just about caught up to that now.

Scrunch wrote:

Scrappy wrote:The advent of GWS and Gold Coast to the AFL drained a lot of players from around Australia
By definition that means less available elite standard players in the SANFL

Yes good point, although the game should have just about caught up to that now.

I think the game will always be a bit lesser standard as more AFL teams means more recruits are taken each year.
It is hard to gauge whether the competition as a whole has dropped as different game styles also effect the game. The continuous flooding leads to more congested games which to me anyway, makes the game look less skilful.

The "full press" employed by AFL teams in recent years (i.e. flooding the defensive half of the ground) has only really been overcome by elite kicking, as pioneered by Hawthorn. This has resulted in kicking skills being of prime importance in drafting players, leaving lower leagues a bit short in that department. I wonder if this, combined with state league teams adopting the AFL game style, has left us with a defensive style that can't be easily overcome because we don't have the elite skills required.