Expansion of the SANFL post Port & Crows

[Tigerlaird]

So with Port confirming its intention to leave the SANFL in the near future and presumably the Crows reserves as well, the competition will be reduced to 8 teams, leaving two spaces to be filled.

Could the Eagles split and Woodville make a come back? A club from the Adelaide Footy League make the jump to SANFL? Or perhaps even an interstate side..

 

[MortlockWatcher]

Is there a need to expand? The WAFL had eight clubs playing 21 rounds for well over 60 years and that worked well.

 

[Tigerlaird]

Is there a need to expand? The WAFL had eight clubs playing 21 rounds for well over 60 years and that worked well.

Definitely is something up for debate.

 

[MortlockWatcher]

The problem the WAFL created for itself was to try and almost compete with the AFL after the Eagles went in.

By the early 1990s, they were pushing for the Goldfields, Geraldton and the South West to seek admission as a way of making the competition more attractive and try and arrest the attendance slide and to try and increase revenue. Eventually, a 'Goldfields Giants' entry was submitted and voted upon and suffered a resounding defeat (7-1 from memory).

No-one else tried until the Mandurah FC tried later in the 90s and, with a number of sweeteners provided to the current clubs, got over the line. Peel Thunder entered in 1997 and didn't make the finals until 2014 - and only then when they were aligned to the Fremantle Dockers as its reserves team.

The players who had no ambitions to try and progress up the pathways towards the AFL would prefer to play for more money in the Peel league than play WAFL. If the Dockers joined a national reserves comp, Peel Thunder will be destined to slide down the ladder once again.

With the benefit of hindsight, none of the regional teams would have lasted as standalone entities into the long term as the corporate backing available when these clubs were mooted are not available now, plus the travel to and from Perth would have seen few players committed to the cause (Kalgoorlie is 593km away, Geraldton is 417km and Bunbury is 169km).

Broken Hill is closer to Adelaide than Kalgoorlie is to Perth, so you could imagine the logistical issues. There are only five clubs in the goldfields region - and the nearest club to them is 226km away in Southern Cross - so to support a WAFL club with league, reserves and colts would seriously affect the sustainability of the GFL.

SA being a smaller state may be able to handle it better but what options are there?
What country teams could cut the mustard? What are the implication for zones for SANFL clubs if a new metro club or two come in?

 

[jabba5114]

North east would want a team. Maybe go back to rumoured N.T merger. Could be the santfl

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[relapse]

North east would want a team. Maybe go back to rumoured N.T merger. Could be the santfl

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I don't think it would ever happen, but if the SANFL were absolutely set on expanding then Mount Barker would most probably the most obvious choice.

It's a rapidly growing area and the club would service the greater hills area, it would be the no-brainer and think that it would be financially successful.

As for a 2nd team, most probably you could argue that the NE suburbs is under represented in the SANFL, but the question would be is whether anyone would support it?

 

[jabba5114]

I don't think it would ever happen, but if the SANFL were absolutely set on expanding then Mount Barker would most probably the most obvious choice.

It's a rapidly growing area and the club would service the greater hills area, it would be the no-brainer and think that it would be financially successful.

As for a 2nd team, most probably you could argue that the NE suburbs is under represented in the SANFL, but the question would be is whether anyone would support it?

Yeah mt Barker could work. I do think north east could work . Enough suburbs and they are far enough away from central's and north. They have big clubs in the Adelaide footy league as well

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[Tandy]

Just came to ask about this exact topic. Mt Barker could make a good case. Especially with the ground and facilities they've got. Adding 2 existing teams into the SANFL could breath a bit of life into the league. It's imo the best state league in the country. So they'd make 8 teams work. But it could all add excitement and more interest.