SANFL Footy

[Honeyboy Wilson]

Hey all.

Now I'm not like a lot of you, in that I didn't grow up with Port Adelaide in the SANFL. Although I was born in Adelaide, I grew up in Queensland and Victoria and have only ever followed Port Adelaide from an AFL point of view.

But I went to the Magpies vs Norwood game on the weekend, my first SANFL game.

I was shocked.

Not by the football, that was about how I expected it to be - umpiring a thousand times better than the AFL (cos they let the players play), players with a lack of skill and poor decision making, but all players extremely hard at the ball.

But the setup of the game. Is it always that way? Like in terms of the crowd and everything. First, I was surprised when we got grandstand seats whether we wanted Norwood section or Port Adelaide section. I thought wow, surely that isn't a strictly enforced rule. Considering we went with a Norwood supporter friend we asked for no reserved seating, we'd sit in the middle of them.

Tried to sit in one section and a lady told us our Norwood friend wasn't allowed to sit there. I heard her remark as we walked off "We wouldn't even be allowed to sit in their grandstand and they think they can just sit anywhere!"

I couldn't really handle it, the whole sutation got me down. It might seem extreme, but it almost felt like an apartheid situation... Norwood supporters had to go to the coloured bar.

Is that how it is with every SANFL game? Supporters have their own sections? I was insanely surprised to be honest. I didn't know what to think.

 

[Macca19]

Not sure.

I usually stand in front of the Williams stand and the deal there is, theres an opposition section, where opposition reserves players/WAGs etc. can sit. Theres a Port section, where Port players/WAGs can sit. Theres a reserved section where you buy a season ticket or a match day ticket for the stand, and then theres the free section (next to the bowling club/opposition race) where you dont need to buy a ticket.

I dont know what the other stand is like.

And yes, most grounds grandstands have similar sections.

 

[Honeyboy Wilson]

I'll probably go again to see J Butcher's debut, but I'm definitely not a fan of the segregation. Is there a reasoning behind it? Lots of drunken fights or something?

Makes it almost impossible to go to games with friends who follow different teams. Although of course, it was terrible weather so that's why we sat in the grandstand, I'm guessing standing around the ground there's no segregation (although it did sorta seem like it, but I don't think that was an enforced thing, just supporters sticking together).

 

[Macca19]

There is no segregation. Its no different than at AFL grounds where home team players get their area to sit in, opposition team/admin get their area to sit and then you have season ticket holders who have their area to sit in.

Never heard it being an issue before, but then ive never heard of an opposition supporter not being allowed to sit. The old ladies that man the Williams stand are pretty anal about it all. What stand was it? You could have sat in the GA area for free, or tried the other stand. Theres no supporter segregation at SANFL football. The league would be dead if that was the case as noone would go.

 

[Macca19]

From memory, this is how the stands at Alberton are set out.

 

[Ebert80]

But I went to the Magpies vs Norwood game on the weekend, my first SANFL game.

Re this game, replay can be seen here:

http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/sport