chazwazza Care to explain Centrals? It was very well known that they were always over the salary cap via other means, so that argument doesn't wash with me. The two AFL reserve teams are not free to do as they want. Yes, they have AFL list players playing there, but the majority of those players are the lowest paid on an AFL list. They also have top up players who are not SANFL level and don't have the salaries the SANFL players get. So they have higher and lower.
I've competed against teams/athletes who have better training and facilities etc related to greater money they receive. Do I still get out there and want to do better than them. Hell yes and once the game/competition starts, we are on an even basis. If you think already that you are behind the eight ball, then you are very likely to get beaten. There are very few competitions where everyone is even. Even in the AFL it is not an even competition in terms of footy department spends etc and other teams with concessions, so it's already there in the AFL. Sometimes I am okay with the concessions, other times I think they have been too generous.
A few of the clubs were on the verge of having to either merge or go into bankruptcy without the bailout monies from the AFL teams. Those were some very real concerns about the failures of the sanfl at the time. There just isn't a market for the sanfl so much anymore. And as
MRB37 says above, Glenelg still have financial issues and they wouldn't be the only one.