Is the SANFL dying?

Declining crowds, players leaving.

What's ahead?

Not yet
There is still a SANFL following but its not translating to attendances
As the baby boomers depart, and the world fills up with millennials , this thread will be realized or not

Ive been actively attending for the last 50 years
I guess that gives me some authority to voice an opinion from the 1970's to the present

The AFL has eroded the standard of the SANFL
The constant pillaging of players has meant that ALL League football comps around Australia have a standard drop

From a players perspective, who can blame anyone for wanting to play in the AFL being the very best comp in Australia
Monetary wise, the players can make a decent quid as well

The SANFL has managed to retain a reasonable standard
There are no long term superstars playing in the comp
Gone are the days when a comp could boast players of the caliber , that include , Barrie Robran , Russell Ebert , Rick Davies ,  Gary Mcintosh , Mark Jones and Malcolm Blight, all being players that I have seen

I understand and accept players leaving the SANFL to play in the AFL
With that logic I continue to supPORT and follow the SANFL comp with vibrancy

In those 50 years , I must add though, the most unethical thing that has occurred is the  AFL mid year draft
I think taking players in a pre season draft is acceptable
However to recruit players half way through a season, seems unjust for the SANFL

The future is uncertain for the  SANFL ?
As long as the AFL continues to create new clubs , that means the SANFL will find it hard to create a higher standard

Here's a hypothesis of mine
If there are no new AFL clubs in the next 20 years , the SANFL [ and AFL]would have a higher standard
This is because of Australian population growth , a surplus of players means the players who dont make the cut will have to go to the SANFL [ and other league comps]
This will in turn improve  depth and pool of players, and in theory an improved standard

However none of that could happen if the AFL expands and continues to create new clubs

As for the SANFL dying , I don't think so
With creative marketing of the millennial generation the SANFL can survive


All talented junior players have to start in a comp like the SANFL , their parents/friends/etc will follow their progress in the SANFL , this creates exposure for the SANFL

The SANFL  must survive until Norwood passes Port Adelaide on Premiership wins ....

Relevance to our younger generations is the concern, in my opinion.

dying....NO

evolving...YES

unfortunately it is evolving into a pure feeder comp, even this year supposedly because of covid & i say supposedly because when they eradicate it'll still stay & that is every player in any state league who has nominated for the draft can be picked up at any stage throughout the year, the positive this brings is players may stay longer in the state leagues hoping for that shot at an afl contract but that is the only positive i can see.
The AFL is all about integrity, but i can't see this has any integrity at all, first player Lee Scrappy from the combined Norwood/West team can get picked up in round 3 to play for West Coast, plays a game or two & gets sent back, Lee Scrappy is playing well & gets picked up by Sydney in round
11, a month later in round 15 he could be playing for Adelaide.....i might be stupid but where is the integrity in that ? & by the way this scenario is well & truly on the cards if Dwayne Russell is correct

as for all the extra drafts during a season etc this is for franchises that wont have to pick up an extra ruckman etc in the off season because if they have one that goes down with an injury they just go for whatever ruckman they deem is playing well in any of the comps in the land, teams for years have had bad luck stories with players missing because of injury, now that's part of footy but with the AFL they want replacements like the big bash had.

now with football betting that opens up another can of worms, if there is a dominant team in any competition this team would be looking hard to beat in August & by finals time their best 4 or 5 players could be lining up for AFL teams in their finals campaign, which would mean betting on state league premiership markets could not only ruin a state league clubs aspirations but someone betting on that team to go top, whether that be Subiaco, North Adelaide or Williamstown

I don't see any evidence of resistance by the sanfl to the forces both above (afl) and below (country / Ammos) that are impacting on this competition.

Whether by design or default, the sanfl has allowed itself to evolve (or is it "devolve"?) into a feeder competition.

If, as Bayman suggests, it become an U23 version, is there anything that the sanfl can do to maintain some sort of integrity in the competition structure;
- salary cap matters
- the draft process (ie the one inflicted on the sanfl)
- managing the direct afl imbalance from Port / Crows
- recruiting and maintaining of players
- the underage system

And these items do not even go anywhere near the off-field issues of promoting the competition to kids and facilitating sustainable business models within clubs.

It is all a bit depressing.

But for some reason, I don't hear much from the clubs complaining about all this. How come?

Omicron has wreaked havoc with the NBL and the BBL fixturing in the last 6 weeks

I would'nt be surprised that if Omicron does'nt subside quickly ,the two Adelaide based AFL clubs will go into a bubble and pull their SANFL teams as well.

Omicron might also mean more SANFL players taken during the Mid Fear Draft

I have never seen such a turnover of players in the SANFL.

I have never read the teams and seen as many players that I've never heard of.

Danger signs.

I'm not sure it's the SANFL in decline as much as Football (AFL) itself. I come from a strong West Adelaide and Collingwood background, (I know, shoot me!) and the thing that stands out for me is that young people (that's anyone under about 45 or so) are simply not interested. I think it's the 'Corporatisation' of the best game in the World, but there are many things, both positive and negative for people to think about, and occupy their time, these days. Just as one example, look at what has happened to the Port Adelaide Football Club, I used to be scared of them, now I just laugh, cry a bit at the same time, I suppose. I hope someone can refute my argument, perhaps Community and Inclusion is the way forward. I certainly don't know! (Disclaimer, I am 100% West Adelaide! !

Unless the Salary Cap returns to pre COVID levels, the competition will continue to lose players.
There are players earning $400 a game in Div 3 Amateurs.
This is more than many SANFL players.
Also, the game as a spectacle is not what it was. The AFL and total team defence is to blame for this.

I don’t think football is as defensive as it was say about a decade ago, even yesterday we had 2 games on the same day when team trailing by around 6 goals got up & won, this would have not happened 10 years ago, some of the rule changes certainly have worked although the “stand rule” needs tweaking such as if a player fakes to handball it should automatically be play on without the call & at worst not a 25/50 metre penalty, this is too harsh to penalise because of a reflex reaction

Incidentally when was the last time two games on the same weekend had comebacks of 5 goals plus ?

It certainly happened that fateful day down at the Bay, when the Blues squandered a 40-odd point lead at 3/4 time to assume the role of witches hats in the last quarter, all in front of 11000 people.

Might be a bit more than 10 years - I am still trying to forget that day!

I certainly think the game across the board has become much more defensive. Which follows many other sports that have defensive mind sets as key to the game plan.

Yes Chambo that happened & was a great last quarter, especially when Sturt kicked the first goal of that last quarter & on the crowd I recall Caroline Wilson making a comment that there was a bigger crowd at an sanfl game than at an afl game on the same day/weekend

However my question was when was the last time two (2) games in the same round had comebacks of a 5 goal + comeback?