Portfolio SANFL 2025

[Damo Crows Fan]

Riding the coat tales of El_Scorcho a little here, but I've often wanted to cast my eye forwards a little and look at the SANFL in 9-10 years.



By 2025, the SANFL has undergone a massive facelift, and entered into a brave new era for the league. Since 2015, the league suffered body blow after body blow.
In 2016, the famous old Sturt Football Club limped into a merger with neighboring club Norwood, drastically changing the leagues drafting zones.

In 2017, following the AFL's announcement of a beta comp for their clubs reserves teams, the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Magpies offically withdrew from the comp, further shrinking the competition and robbing the league of two lucrative revenue streams.

by 2020, this drop in club numbers had exacerbated the long term problem of losing players to country leagues to a dangerous level. Put simply, the league was now too small to guarantee spots for all top flight players, and cashed up country leagues were willing to exploit this.

In response, the league agreed to expand back to ten clubs, and determined to include country regions in this expansion.

 

[Andonis1997]

In 2016, the famous old Sturt Football Club limped into a merger with neighboring club Norwood, drastically changing the leagues drafting zones.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Though I am looking forward to what you do

 

[Jones2ByrneJones]

I know this is about graphic design so how you answer this isn't entirely important. Just wondering why Norwood, the biggest SANFL team, would merge? Unless, of course, Norwood has joined the AFL and their SANFL side is just the reserves...

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

NSU Redlegs.

Sturt had played without any financial assets or club rooms of their own for two full seasons before finally conceding to their mounting debts. Chased by crediters and banks, the club agreed to file for bankruptcy, and cut their losses. The SANFL agreed to fund the re-launch of the football club post bankrupcy, but only if they agreed to merge with Norwood.

The two clubs had worked towards mergers twice before, and for Norwood the lure of SANFL backing and an opening into Sturts drafting zones in the Adelaide Hills and Adelaide CBD proved too strong to ignore.

The two clubs merged to become the Norwood Sturt Union or NSU, keeping the nickname of Redlegs. Sturt demanded that every guernsey the club wore had two tones of blue, and the Redlegs demanded to always include red socks and the moniker.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

North Adelaide

North changed little during the tumultuous decade, the only major change being the return of a less Victorian V and the return of the Candy Stripes.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

Glenelg Tigers and West Adelaide

Like North Adelaide, Glenelg changed little, but adopted a heritage style away jumper. Like wise the Bloods stayed true to heritage, and held firm with their popular and unique invert-able jumpers. They did, however, concede a change of Sock design, to appease the entry of a new club....

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

South Adelaide

Souths, after winning their first premiership since 1964 in 2016, adopted a more traditional jumper, returning to white collars and cuffs and a heritage style monogram. This monogram also now dominates their away jumper, a controversial move which has divided the supporter base.

 

[Andonis1997]

South Adelaide

Souths, after winning their first premiership since 1964 in 2016, adopted a more traditional jumper, returning to white collars and cuffs and a heritage style monogram. This monogram also now dominates their away jumper, a controversial move which has divided the supporter base.

No offence, but I can see why it would divide the fan base....

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

No offence, but I can see why it would divide the fan base....

just a cartoony, almost childish looking move, i thought

 

[Andonis1997]

just a cartoony, almost childish looking move, i thought

Yep, agreed. After all their great clashes from the last decade () they decide to pull that out.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

Tea Tree Gully Woodsmen

Talk of a team in the North Eastern City Council of Tea Tree Gully had existed in the SANFL for decades in one way or another.

In 1997 the boom suburb of Golden Grove, recently awarded the title of 'Worlds Best Address,' was associated with a SANFL side, but, as the region was a Norwood bastion, the plans were never fully entertained.

Later, in the late naughties, a 'Team in the North East' became an election platform for Labor mp Tony Zappia- again, a never full entertained dream.

However, what was once a murmur uttered by some became a serious conversation after Norwood merged with Sturt, and the SANFL announced it needed to expand from a seven team comp.

Immediately, TTG emerged as an obvious suburban candidate. A consortium of local business owners and wealthy residence, as well as the management of the local TTG SAAFL side, began to argue for a re drafting of the zones to take the Northern most stretches of Norwoods zones, a stretch of the northern Adelaide Hills, and the Eastern most stretches of Central Districts zones away and set them aside for the club to promote themselves to the SANFL.

Norwood conceded this northern area in favour of the southern half of the Adelaide Hills and Eastern Suburbs, and the Bulldogs agreed, acknowledging the rampant growth occurring within their region, and the TTG team was given the green light to join the league in 2017.

The TTG amateur side then became the Woodsmen, a name referencing the areas lush eucalyptus forests and green leafy reserves and parks.

The clubs colours of red and black, and their nickname of wolves or bloods, were changed to avoid a clash with West Adelaide.



note; Credit where credit is due here, this design belongs to the Woodsman AFC club from Queensland.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

Woodville-West Torrens

The Eagles chose to mark this period of expansion and change by returning to some traditional club designs. Home now reflects the old Warriors kit, and away the Eagles.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

Central Districts

The bulldogs continue to soldier on with minimal changes, only changing to blue shorts and a mostly red away kit.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

South Coast Sharks

The SANFL launched into it's expansion plans in earnest in 2017, when it admitted TTG entry into the league. It then cast its eyes further afield, looking at shoring up country regions which had, for a long time, poached both young and experienced players while also possessing some of the best home grown footballers.

The first area to appeal to the league was a Victor Harbour consortium calling themselves the Sharks.

The team officially entered the league in 2019, based themselves out of Victor, and sourced players from the Fleurieu Peninsula and surrounds.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

Renmark Rovers

Renmark emerged as a location for a SANFL club soon after the Sharks consortium announced their intentions.

Renmark was a contraversial choice for expansion, mainly because of the concern over it's distance form Adelaide, but also because other riverland clubs were stoic in their refusal to join the league. This hampered the SANFL's efforts to find a club to promote, and hinted at the possibility of a complete boycott by investers and players.

The lock out came from a sense of solidarity among the Riverland clubs, who felt they were strong and sufficient enough in themselves and didn't need the 'Big City Boys' showing upa nd 'running the joint.'

Renmark Rovers Football Club, however, entertained the SANFL's offers, and saw the advantage for their club to make the jump. BAcked by locals and investors, the Rovers joined the league in 2018, and quickly gained attention for being a super talented, but hard and tough team.

 

[aCunningPlan]

Renmark is a whole of a town and a whole of a ground in a terrible location for any Riverland team. If a team was to be based in the Riverland it would have to be Berri, more money in Berri than Renmark anyway. I've got a few links with the RFL and while it was all hypothetical a number of clubs have said if the opportunity arose to get an SANFL side up they would jump at it.

I'm assuming Murray Bridge and Mount Gambier get sides if the Riverland does.

Sorry, I've spent 16 years living in the South East, the Murray Mallee and the Riverland before I moved to Ballarat.

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

I did say they were a "controversial choice"

 

[Andonis1997]

Renmark is a whole of a town and a whole of a ground in a terrible location for any Riverland team. If a team was to be based in the Riverland it would have to be Berri, more money in Berri than Renmark anyway. I've got a few links with the RFL and while it was all hypothetical a number of clubs have said if the opportunity arose to get an SANFL side up they would jump at it.

Or they could just called themselves the 'Riverland Rovers'?

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

As I said, the rest of the Riverland are pissed about this move, all of thme think it's a bad idea, calling the team Riverland would seriously cause issues

 

[gee whiz giant]

Glenelg Tigers and West Adelaide

Like North Adelaide, Glenelg changed little, but adopted a heritage style away jumper. Like wise the Bloods stayed true to heritage, and held firm with their popular and unique invert-able jumpers. They did, however, concede a change of Sock design, to appease the entry of a new club....

The Bays would have yellow numbers

 

[sammy_mac]

Tea Tree Gully Woodsmen

THE MIGHTY GULLIES! Get around us.

Although we were originally aligned with North Adelaide when I played my junior footy there. I think it was after Golden Grove FC were established they aligned TTG with Norwood, although Grove are going to be with Centrals as of next year (which makes more sense, really).

 

[Van Nostrand]

Renmark is a whole of a town and a whole of a ground in a terrible location for any Riverland team. If a team was to be based in the Riverland it would have to be Berri, more money in Berri than Renmark anyway. I've got a few links with the RFL and while it was all hypothetical a number of clubs have said if the opportunity arose to get an SANFL side up they would jump at it.

I'm assuming Murray Bridge and Mount Gambier get sides if the Riverland does.

Sorry, I've spent 16 years living in the South East, the Murray Mallee and the Riverland before I moved to Ballarat.

Renmark's ovals and facilities shite all over Berri's.
Berri's a more central location, but having watched AFL pre-season games at both venues, Renmark is certainly a lot better.
Also there is stuff all money in Berri - a town which is slowly dying unfortunately.

It would have to be a Riverland team, which use St Kilda colours/guernsey.

 

[chibimatty]

Love the Bulldogs' red away kit.

 

[Heardy_101]

I know this is a "what if" thread, but Gawler, Modbury (North East) Murray Bridge and Mount Barker will all get teams before Victors or Renmark.

For trivial purposes, the SANFL could expand to have Kapunda and Willunga back in the league