Breakaway League. Could it be done?

A year ago sanfl fans were told it would be in the best interests for all our clubs to allow the AFL to put their reserves teams in our league. The sceptics were howled down under the loud "cha-ching" ringing in the ears of the Sanfl admins. Well the hens have come home to roost with most weeks our teams playing against 17 or 18 AFL professionals and we irregularly jag a win. Now with the Crows seconds getting their stuff together there will soon be 8 clubs fighting it out for 3rd place.
Could it be possible for the 8 remaining clubs to form a new league of their own and become independent of the SANFL? Port and the Crows could play each other every week prior to the AFL at Adelaide Oval. The upside of this would be that the Magpies are out of the league(something that should have happened in 1997) and the Crows reserves will still be able to boast their big crowd figures. Our finals could be played at neutral grounds,we could have a top 4 and return to a decent long season by playing every team 3 times. It would also leave the SANFL to pander to their 2 pet teams and leave the rest of us alone to get on with what we've done best for over 100 years...good honest family footy thats accessible to the fans. What do you think?

Great post, ozrules. It would be nice, wouldn't it?

I think there would be several problems, including money and affiliation with the AFL which runs footy, licences and development.

Perhaps more possible is that the clubs and League directors make it clear to the SANFL Commission that more notice should be taken of the plight of the existing clubs.

The clubs did vote for the AFL teams, that's the issue. The promises that were made by the AFL clubs have been either wildly optimistic or deliberately broken.

There definitely needs to be a rethink. Some talk of 'hobbling' the afl reserves teams. This would be demeaning to the original clubs and undermine the integrity of the league.

for something like that to work you would need a philanthropist billionaire say like Chuck Feeney to kick start it, & either to help it along every now & then or put enough finances into it to cover the early gremlins as it developes & obviously it would have to get the media yes the media 'to get on board' & the clubs would have to back it 100 %, having said that perhaps the clubs couldn't move but the players be enticed to join a 'super league' like Kerry Packers' World Series Cricket.........................................................................................................i like the concept but in reality it would never work i wouldn't think

Realistically possible.

Logistically impossible.

I like the idea, however , the only breakaway league that will happen will be AFL Reserves when it is deemed the SANFL clubs are not of sufficient competition.

Good idea Eerie. Unfortunately packing them off to the VFL was one of my original submissions but was deemed financially impossible.

Your idea sounds good but the reality is it will never happen.

Its possible, yet we would not be in this position if it were not for the spineless behaviour shown last season by several SANFL league sides CEO's who voted in all this. Those cowards would never agree to anything remotely like this.

Interesting thread. I would suggest the solution is pretty obvious, kick out the reserves teams or at least ban them from finals.
Re a breakaway comp, what happens about zones? Where do the players come from?

cutterman wrote:Interesting thread. I would suggest the solution is pretty obvious, kick out the reserves teams or at least ban them from finals.
Re a breakaway comp, what happens about zones? Where do the players come from?

can't ban them from finals as that would then make the whole competition a total mockery

no different from players ''going bush'' to play