Top Up Players

West will today play Adelaide. Adelaide have named 23 and it is likely they'll have to hold a couple of those key players back, due to the game next Thursday.

Their top-up players, as agreed, are young Reserves standard or country players. This is a significant disadvantage, although Adelaide is allowed to have one 'marque player (Callinan), but it was accepted because having seasoned SANFL players added to a majority of AFL listed players would make them close to unbeatable, except for injury. That isn't to say Adelaide, even with these top-up players, won't beat West today.

West played Port a couple of weeks ago and were soundly beaten. It was clear that this was partly because Port's 'top-up' players were of a much higher standard than Adelaide's. Indeed, Summerton was best on ground, even above the AFL players, while the balance of the top-ups were players who would comfortably get a game with any of the other SANFL clubs.

Forgetting the issue of why these players would ostensibly be playing for $400 a game and only $100 if they play Reserves (Raikiwasa), it's clear this is an unsustainable option.

We'll have to wait until the season ends before we can judge properly, but it's a subject that will require a good deal of thought to get the right balance. That balance should be that the ASFL clubs have a realistic, but not unfair, shot at the premiership and equally shouldn't be consigned to the bottom of the ladder due to sub-standard players being added.

For the record, I'm not against the AFL sides being in the SANFL, but don't like to see unequal rules or rorts.

The other question relates to supporters of the Magpies in particular and perhaps they can answer. After years of passionately following the Magpies, what's the feeling watching them demolish teams now, knowing they're much stronger and better resourced. Would you like to see a more evn playing field, or are you just happy with things as they are. For me, a Port premiership this year would be one I wouldn't value as highly, but that's from a West supporter.

What's the answer to the top-up player problem? (everyone please stick to the subject).

We wouldn't have that problem if Both AFL 2nds weren't in our Comp

perhaps that Sturt supporter in power (or soon to be) might make the correct decision & give them the reserves competition they crave, oh hang on forget integrity that costs money

The Port reserves top up Players are a farce when you consider players such as Krakouer and Raiswaika are being paid 100.00 a game. Even Biemens recruited from the Geelong area and well known to Travis Boak wouldnt travel all the way from there for $400.00 a game.

I place no importance on any win Port have in the SANFL.

I watch them very closely in the AFL as I'm a South Aussie and I won't them to win except when they play the Crows

Lastly what surprised me in the game I watched West V Port was Port wearing the Magpies guensery
I would have thought being a reserves side they would be wearing something very similar to their AFL strip

4 teams in the SANFL for port and 1 for the crows, so much for equality for both AFL sides, there is none.
Top up players for port come from all of there grades, and the crows have to use B Grade players from SANFL teams and the amateur league.

Leave Port Magpies as they are now with all the junior teams in their zone, plus Reserves, but make a rule that their top up players can only come from within their zone and they must be 21 years or younger. Once they reach 21, at the end of the season they must find another club or play SANFL Reserves level only.

Align Adelaide Crows with Adelaide University. To be eligible to be a top up player they must also be 21 years or younger and studying at Adelaide Uni. If a Uni student is aligned with an SANFL club already, it is up to the student to decide who they play with, but can't play with both. Overflows play with Adelaide Uni in Amateur League.

Continue to put a cap on what top up players can be paid.

testy wrote:4 teams in the SANFL for port and 1 for the crows, so much for equality for both AFL sides, there is none.
Top up players for port come from all of there grades, and the crows have to use B Grade players from SANFL teams and the amateur league.

One confusing area for me is why the powers reserves team playing in the SANFL league competition is called the magpies when they are ONE team according to them.  

If my memory serves me correctly, the original proposition was for the Crows and Power reserves to be on exactly the same footing. But Port jacked up on that and got the concessions they presently enjoy. Quite simply that must end . The only acceptable situation in 2015, so far as I'm concerned, is for Port in the SANFL, to have exactly what the Crows have. Namely their AFL surplus players plus 15 top up players from the country and Amateurs. All the rest must go, as we were originally promised. This whole "Magpies" history and tradition rubbish, is just a con job. That era is gone. They chose their bed in 1997, let them lie in it.

The Port Adelaide Football Club simply can't have their cake and eat it, too...

Not at the cost of the SANFL competition that we all love and want to be around, in a true, non-compromised format, for future generations...

It seems the answer in general, as with Adelaide's set up is to have :

Excess AFL listed players in the SANFL side.
A list of 15 or so **** players who don't deserve to be playing SANFL.

This will help the competition?

One fact that seems to be overlooked is that Port Adelaide has had a superb run with injuries so far this season, as opposed to Adelaide which has had on average 4 - 6 first choicers out each week.

As will all discussion regarding the new setup, I think the season needs to run its full course before any assessment can be made on any of the particulars.

I have no doubt that one topic of discussion will be about the logistics of the AFL bye rounds after Adelaide obviously struggled with it on the weekend.

Adelaide has top up players as it called, Port don't.
At least not yet.

I will await the outcome of the next 3 rounds where Port play South, Central and North.

However, if you discount the first round aberration, Port seem to be at least an 8 goal better side than anyone else. Next up against South, the only other form side of the competition, will be the season barometer for me.

Booney wrote:It seems the answer in general, as with Adelaide's set up is to have :

Excess AFL listed players in the SANFL side.
A list of 15 or so **** players who don't deserve to be playing SANFL.

This will help the competition?

Well, first I'd say that the 15 or so AFL listed players don't deserve to be in the SANFL either.

Booney, many are outright opposed to the entry of the AFL teams. I'm not one of those, as I think it was inevitable. Therefore, I'm more concerned with making it a level playing field, as much as possible. Clearly a team containing 15 AFL listed players, who train daily, have access to far better resources and are paid ten or twenty times more than their SANFL opponents, will be far too good for an SANFL team.

Therefore, in making the rules for their entry, it was obviously necessary to 'even up' the competition, hence the top-up players being a lower standard. This was designed to even things up.

Both AFL teams accepted this. The Crows have been plagued by injury, Port haven't, good luck to them on this front.

The problem I have, however, is that Port have got around this and even the most gullible observer would have doubts about their methods.

First, each team was allowed to have one marque player. For Adelaide it was Ian callinan. For Port it was Henry Slattery. The less said about how Henry got to Port, the better. So far, so good, but we see that Port's best each week includes Steen Summerton, who all SANFL clubs tried to recruit at a high price tag. We are supoposed to believe that Steve is playing for the limit of $400 a game. We all know Port have got around the rules by back-ending his (no doubt high) contract until he's 28. Meanwhile, he's playing for $400 a week.

Sure.

On top of that, the balance of their top-up players so far are alos players who are comfortably up to SANFL standard and who are also playing for far less than their market value. Even ex-AFL players and interstate recruits are flocking to play for the $400.

Then, at Reserves level, we have Raikiwasa playing for $100 a game.

It's my opinion that, as usual, Port's word means nothing and they will do anything to circumvent the rules they agree to.

On top of this, nobody goes to watch either side, unless Tex Walker is playing. The West v Crows game attracted 1750 and that would have included no more than 100 Adelaide fans. Similarly, the crowd for West's game at Alberton was very poor.

I agree we have to wait until the end of the season to judge properly and injuries are a major factor, but Port have done themselves no favours at all and might suffer as a consequence.

And so they should.

Going forward, I believe that the easiest thing to balance out the competition would be to divide the Port Metro zone in half. The Nothern half is the Power zone and the Southern half is the Crows zone. The country zone is lost.
Both clubs have a zone to recruit from and juniors to work with. There should be a ban on recruiting from other clubs in that neither club can recruit a player who has played AFL, SANFL, WAFL or VFL at league level at anytime in the previous 2 years. Neither can they recruit any junior players from any other club.

Not that this will effect 2014. This year I suspect (barring a severe run with injuries) the other clubs are playng for the privilege of being beaten by the Power Reserves in the Grand Final.

redandblack wrote:

Booney wrote:It seems the answer in general, as with Adelaide's set up is to have :

Excess AFL listed players in the SANFL side.
A list of 15 or so **** players who don't deserve to be playing SANFL.

This will help the competition?

Well, first I'd say that the 15 or so AFL listed players don't deserve to be in the SANFL either.

Booney, many are outright opposed to the entry of the AFL teams.  I'm not one of those, as I think it was inevitable.  Therefore, I'm more concerned with making it a level playing field, as much as possible.  Clearly a team containing 15 AFL listed players, who train daily, have access to far better resources and are paid ten or twenty times more than their SANFL opponents, will be far too good for an SANFL team.

Therefore, in making the rules for their entry, it was obviously necessary to 'even up' the competition, hence the top-up players being a lower standard.  This was designed to even things up.

Both AFL teams accepted this.  The Crows have been plagued by injury, Port haven't, good luck to them on this front.

The problem I have, however, is that Port have got around this and even the most gullible observer would have doubts about their methods.

First, each team was allowed to have one marque player.  For Adelaide it was Ian callinan.  For Port it was Henry Slattery.  The less said about how Henry got to Port, the better.  So far, so good, but we see that Port's best each week includes Steen Summerton, who all SANFL clubs tried to recruit at a high price tag.  We are supoposed to believe that Steve is playing for the limit of $400 a game.  We all know Port have got around the rules by back-ending his (no doubt high) contract until he's 28.  Meanwhile, he's playing for $400 a week.

Sure.

On top of that, the balance of their top-up players so far are alos players who are comfortably up to SANFL standard and who are also playing for far less than their market value.  Even ex-AFL players and interstate recruits are flocking to play for the $400.

Then, at Reserves level, we have Raikiwasa playing for $100 a game.

It's my opinion that, as usual, Port's word means nothing and they will do anything to circumvent the rules they agree to.

On top of this, nobody goes to watch either side, unless Tex Walker is playing.  The West v Crows game attracted 1750 and that would have included no more than 100 Adelaide fans.  Similarly, the crowd for West's game at Alberton was very poor.

I agree we have to wait until the end of the season to judge properly and injuries are a major factor, but Port have done themselves no favours at all and might suffer as a consequence.

And so they should.

*BUMP*

Top Up players – leadership player
• Port Adelaide Magpies support team can contract one ‘leadership’ player per season.
o 28 years and over, must have been on PAFC AFL or PAMFC list.

Top Up players – ‘Magpies listed’ contracted players
• Port Adelaide Magpies to provide a list of 15 players at the start of the season who can play at SANFL league level – contracts to be lodged with SANFL. (18 and above with no age ceiling to apply).
• Such players receive a maximum of $400 per match at SANFL league level, $100 at reserves level


R&B, might need to look into that Summerton case that you have repeatedly referenced mate. I can't see where he, as the leadership player, is limited to $400 per week.

It seems the leadership player(s) are looked at differently to the "top up" players.

Booney wrote:


R&B, might need to look into that Summerton case that you have repeatedly referenced mate. I can't see where he, as the leadership player, is limited to $400 per week.

It seems the leadership player(s) are looked at differently to the "top up" players.

You need to read more carefully Booney. The leadership player must be 28 years old. Summerton isn't, and he's not the leadership player - I think that's Slattery.

Flag No.9 wrote:

Booney wrote:


R&B, might need to look into that Summerton case that you have repeatedly referenced mate. I can't see where he, as the leadership player, is limited to $400 per week.

It seems the leadership player(s) are looked at differently to the "top up" players.

You need to read more carefully Booney. The leadership player must be 28 years old. Summerton isn't, and he's not the leadership player - I think that's Slattery.

I think that the 28 year old part was scrapped.....I'll dig some more.

No need to dig, mate.  The 28yo restriction hasn't been scrapped.

This is what annoys the SANFL clubs.  Port continually bend the rules and wonder why the SANFL clubs become determined to rein them in.

Just in my club's case, Henry Slattery was offered a Power position if he played for the Magpies, Ben Newton was transferred to the Magpies because West couldn't guarantee him a starting midfield spot for Round 1 last year, then played Reserves for the Magpies.

To keep Summerton, Port have backended his contract so that he's a 'coach' later, at a salary to reimburse him for any lost earnings the $400 a week falls short by (which is a lot), according to reports.

Meanwhile, we're expected to believe that Steve only gets his $400 a week and that top up players, some from interstate, also all only get $400.

Excuse our cynicism, but their track record for honesty is s**thouse.

Don't think so. Port asked if it could be waived to allow Summerton to be that player but, quite rightly, it was knocked back.
They wouldn't need to be back-ending his contract if they were free to pay him as the leadership player.

Yep, that's how I understand it to work. Which is why Port tried to get the rules wavered to allow Sommerton to be their mature player. They could've used $lattery as that but why would they when they can just top up his salary at PAFC? So they tried it on with Sommerton, the SANFL denied them this.
My other questions are what is Krakouer doing for work outside of football? Does he have a job, if so where? If not how is he only surviving on $400/game?
How closely are the SANFL policing Ports payments and why shouldn't part of $latterys salary be accounted for in their player payments?
For all the Port supporters saying "your clubs voted for this, don't blame Port!" There's a hell of a lot that Port are doing to increase their already huge advantage over traditional SANFL teams.

Would the SANFL even have the resources to properly audit either of the two SANFL clubs?

Should just alter the rules and make them simple - To qualify as a top up player, said player can never have appeared on a AFL/WAFL/VFL/SANFL/NEAFL/TFL/NTFL list at any-time. Or be restricted by age.

As a long time SANFL Supporter this would have to be the biggest and most controversial decision made to allow a side to play in this competition with such allowances.
I would hope that some sort of outcome of fairness will be made in respect of the competition for next year.

Quite interested to note that on Sunday at City Mazda, Port Adelaide medical and other staff rocked up with a cast of thousands of which one or 2 asked where they could park thier cars and where the changerooms were. Obviously it was thier first time at Richmond. It looked like (at least to me) that most of the volunteers from last year at Port are now gone. Iv'e never seen so many so called Port volunteers working at a SANFL game. Not to mention the coaching staff.

Maybe there should be a limit on "top up" volunteers too!   

At least it boosts their crowd figures. (sic)

there is at least one trainer, a former Glenelg trainer that has been told to do one year at the SANFL arm of Port before moving onto their AFL arm....i presume there could be others