To be honest I find some of the attitudes towards the SANFL comp pretty pathetic and totally disrespectful.
I've no idea of the ages of the posters that profess such disdain but I'd assume they never had much to do with footy pre AFL or were too young to develop an affiliation with the comp.
Sorry but this is utter garbage. I was a Sturt member before the Crows and still am now. However I understand that the environment has changed and what was never will be again. There is a core of SANFL diehards who either cannot see this or simply refuse to believe it.
Whatever your views are concerning the validity and previous or current integrity of the comp it's still a comp that deserves respect and some sort of standing. To treat it as simply a feeder comp or a play thing for either local AFL franchise is naive and small minded. You disrespect every clubs long and great history and fall into the Victorian/AFL brainwashing that the only history to be respected is that of the VFL and AFL propaganda machine.
The SANFL clubs had the chance to sever ties with the AFL, to go ahead with their remaining 8 clubs and all their history. Retain the credibility of their competition if that was the most important thing to them. They chose not to.
The two AFL clubs only "crime" was to try to find a competition for their reserves teams to play in. They put proposals to the SANFL which were accepted. If they'd have been rejected they would have played elsewhere.
Personally I hate having both franchises in the SANFL but accept their needs and the current lack of football structures, it's been poorly handled by every level of footy and shows a total lack of vision and management by the AFL.
The minimum I'd like to see is that both reserves teams don't qualify for finals as they don't play under the salary cap. Make more of who finished top after the minor round and they can play for that.
Some sort of respect has to be left for the original clubs.
Disrespect our collective history and you undermine the future of footy in this state, do that and we'll all be worse off for it.
Don't be so small minded to only serve your own needs, if you are then don't be surprised when there's a backlash.
Nothing has changed. Eg AFL players have always been pulled out early for surgery despite their SANFL team being in the finals hunt. It is exactly the same as it has been since 1991, the only difference now is that the 'reserves' compromise is concentrated over two teams rather than diluted over nine.
There is still wider interest in the competition due to the two biggest football teams in town having a presence there. The (smarter) SANFL clubs realised that without the two AFL teams their competition would decay into a glorified amateur league, with the only differences between the SANFL and the SAAFL Division 1 being:
1) The amateur league clubs being more financially stable
2) AFL talent scouts keeping an eye on which 17 year olds at the SANFL clubs are worthy of drafting
The SANFL clubs got exactly what they voted for. In the end they chose the lesser of two evils:
- A competition compromised by having two reserves teams in there balanced by a financial injection
OR
- Sliding into obscurity with no financial injection
It's a shame but times move on. Test cricketers no longer play much Shield cricket. You can bemoan it all you want. I just find it pathetic bleating which serves no purpose whatsoever. Go Sturt.