Why is SA footy so much better than WA now?

[Bjo187]

Off the back of winning the national championships, several standout seasons upcoming at under-18 level, and the significant infrastructure investment driven by Gather Round, South Australia has, in my view, become the strongest football state in the country right now, particularly on a per-capita basis.

What’s especially striking is how consistently strong the SANFL and South Australian talent pathways remain, despite the state’s relatively small population. By contrast, Western Australia, with a much larger population and two extremely wealthy AFL clubs, has seen its WAFL and underage development systems fall away dramatically in recent years.

Why is this? I've always thought both states are about as strong as one another? Does WA need to invest in a comparable, centralised high-performance facility to lift what has become a fairly ordinary development pipeline? and more importantly, what's the answer to get what should be the games second biggest footy state (fallen behind Qld for participation now) back to being an AFL powerhouse?

SANFL opens Australian-First $25M High Performance Centre - SANFL

sanfl.com.au

 

[Giant YoYo]

Glad you created a thread about this as footy in WA appears anaemic at best.

It's not in a good state at all

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Eagles flag was 7 years ago. Crows last was 27 years ago. PORTS was 21 years ago.

Dockers played finals in 22 and 25. Eagles from 2015 to 2020. SA needs to do more.

 

[Bjo187]

Eagles flag was 7 years ago. Crows last was 27 years ago. PORTS was 21 years ago.

Dockers played finals in 22 and 25. Eagles from 2015 to 2020. SA needs to do more.

You do realise there is a whole football ecosystem under the AFL clubs in each state right? WA have produced barely any first round talent the past few years, which is really poor and affects the strength of the talent pool nationally.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

You do realise there is a whole football ecosystem under the AFL clubs in each state right? WA have produced barely any first round talent the past few years, which is really poor and affects the strength of the talent pool nationally.

No. Just no. Adelaide played its first finals in 8 years this season and went out in straight sets. Port have been good but choke. Prelims in 20, 21, 24 and semis in 2023. I don't care about first rounders it's what the clubs success on the field that speaks. And as I pointed out, SA haven't did a whole lot more in recent times tbh. Port didn't play finals again. If it's like this for another 5 years then yeah OK. But ATM neither SA side has really produced.

Still to be determined.

 

[Giant YoYo]

No. Just no. Adelaide played its first finals in 8 years this season and went out in straight sets. Port have been good but choke. Prelims in 20, 21, 24 and semis in 2023. I don't care about first rounders it's what the clubs success on the field that speaks. And as I pointed out, SA haven't did a whole lot more in recent times tbh. Port didn't play finals again. If it's like this for another 5 years then yeah OK. But ATM neither SA side has really produced.

Still to be determined.

Are you okay? Your response has nothing to do with anything.

 

[glengowan]

SA's decision to purchase Footy Park back in the 1970's has held it in good stead financially. It allowed the state to hold out on AFL entry longer than WA through the 80's (player retention scheme) and after selling Football Park & the two AFL licences in 2014, has given it the money to eliminate debt and invest in it's development program in the current day. It still benefits from the strength of the two SA AFL clubs via a return from the SMA of Adelaide Oval.

So while WA is the larger state and has been growing exponentially in population and prosperity compared to SA, the SANFL has always had the financial resources compared to the WAFL. The passion of the SA footy public is also something else. I definitely think Gather Round has injected back some passion/self belief back in to football in SA, with both Port and Crows only briefly giving half the state, at any one time, anything to get excited about over the last 20 years.

Both the SANFL and the WAFL clubs have managed to survive over this time. Whether they continue to do so remains to be seen. When once upon a time every Crows/Power/Eagles/Dockers supporter had a state league club connection, that is less so now with the AFL Reserves teams and time passing by. These competitions are seen more so for development than representing a broader based community striving for a premiership. If these clubs/competitions break down, what does that do to football in a broader sense?

There's also been a decline in country footy, thanks to demographics, technology and more recreational options. The AFL can't take its eye off the heart and soul areas of footy - which is the country areas of VIC, SA and WA.

In terms of which state is better? What better place than on the field to decide that, with home grown talent? I believe SA has won the last 4 State of Origin clashes, the last one being 1998. WA last beat SA in 1991. Hopefully we get another chance to see these two great football states clash again.