Sydney Swans Reserves to play in SANFL?

[CK]

I'll qualify this by saying I am a very big wrap for the NT coming in as the 10th team, as I believe that option will go a long way toward building a real market in the NT for the SANFL to capitalise on and corner a huge market ahead of the AFL. I will always be a very ardent supporter of the NT coming in first, as I truly believe this could be a massive filip for both SA and the NT on a number of areas.

There are some logistical problems with the Sydney idea, but I agree that it is worth a look. The bye is not necessarily a great idea, and something like this is worth consideration. There are obviously a number of financial issues to work through, such as travel etc, but there are some benefits to consider. If, say, West Adelaide play Sydney Reserves in front of 20,000 at the SCG, there is no denying this would be more beneficial to the Bloods youngsters than playing in front of a smaller crowd at Adelaide - it builds the exposure to the big league, helps put their name in front of AFL scouts, etc etc.

It will take a lot of forward thinking and planning for the respective leagues, but I hope it is not simply rejected out of turn as being in the "too hard" basket. Give it some serious consideration, as, if nothing else, it will help expose OUR SANFL on a wider scale.

[Punk Rooster]

Northern Territory's season is not even aligned with ours....
the travel back & forward between the 2 very different climates would put the NT at a greater dis-advantage that is currently there for any AFL side
the financial backing is not likely to be there- they would have to fund not only the NT sides away trips, but also the visiting sides (can't see the NT Government doing this at a loss)
Gameday support would need to be 10000 + to break even, nnot very likely.

The Swans idea (not sure exactly how it started), is a better one than the NT idea, but still not a viable option- logistically, financially or relistically.

[Dutchy]

Interesting points - now correct me if Im wrong but I believe Brisbane Lions reserves play with 16 on the field (2 less) to make the comp more even, surely if Sydney are winning that easy then that might be a much simpler and cheaper option?

[GWW]

Would they get a salary cap advantage like their big brother does in the AFL?

Would they get modern day equivalents of Roos, Lockett and Maxfield GIVEN to them to help them make the GF (96)?

[Dissident]

Dare I say these reactions are probably similar to old school VFL fans' when interstate clubs were mooted.

Maybe we should charge a few million entry fee for the other clubs.

I'm against it though.
Our SANFL is sacred.

Damn, we can't even get a Crows and Power "seconds" side agreed - why would we let another AFl club's in?

Crowd numbers are bad enough at times now, why make it worse with a club with three fifths of **** all supporters?

[westside]

I'm struggling to see how Sydney could field a full reserves side. A full AFL squad can bearly field 2 sides, and that's before factoring in injuries experienced over the course of a season.

Perhaps he meant the swans players can be distributed to SANFL clubs much like the Cows and Paaaa do now. If that's the case, i'd strongly oppose it. You can't expect a dropped AFL player to put in a 100% effort for a team he hasn't heard of in a second tier competition in another state.

[Bullitt]

Sorry if I have missed this point in another reply, if the Sydney Swans reserves are playing in the SANFL who would that SANFL reserves side play against.

Plus the U/19 and U/17.

Would they just have a bye.

[heater31]

I'm struggling to see how Sydney could field a full reserves side. A full AFL squad can bearly field 2 sides, and that's before factoring in injuries experienced over the course of a season.

Perhaps he meant the swans players can be distributed to SANFL clubs much like the Cows and Paaaa do now. If that's the case, i'd strongly oppose it. You can't expect a dropped AFL player to put in a 100% effort for a team he hasn't heard of in a second tier competition in another state.

How does Tasmania get on???? i Know the Kangaroos supply the AFL players but where to the rest of them come from? Would Sydney be allowed to select the best remaining talent from the Sydney FL to top up their side.


To be fair they should distribute themselves amoungst the Current clubs like the Crows/Power already do. other wise it going to f**k us up as well

[Squawk]

Sorry if I have missed this point in another reply, if the Sydney Swans reserves are playing in the SANFL who would that SANFL reserves side play against.

Plus the U/19 and U/17.

Would they just have a bye.

I think you'll find SimonH has discussed this in an earlier post Bullitt - that they would just have a bye.

[MagicKiwi]

I'm a yes. Something new, different, worth a try.

[Punk Rooster]

I'm a yes. Something new, different, worth a try.

Maybe the All-Blacks could enter a side*

[rd]

I prefer a Swans side rather than a NT side at this stage - if simply that Sydney is quicker & cheaper to travel to than Darwin! I like the idea of SANFL teams playing Swans Reserves before 20,000 at the SCG. I like the idea of losing the SANFL bye although the Reserves, U19s & U17s would still have their 9 team comp and possibly a different program for the season. I don't want the Sydney reserves to qualify for home finals - all SANFL finals should still be played in Adelaide. I'm not sure if I would be happy that a Magarey medallist is a 18yo kid from the suburbs of Sydney who only played 9 games in Adelaide for the season. Would the Swans players be allowed to represent the SANFL state team?

[heater31]

I'm a yes. Something new, different, worth a try.

Maybe the All-Blacks could enter a side*

They already send a team to the Australian Country Championships don't they????


South Australia didn't send one this year because the SANFL are tight ar*es

[Strawb]

If they want to do it I would say here are the Two Conditions.
1. That the Swans would be called the Swans wear a different jumper and play all Home games at Adelaide oval.
2. If they AFl want the swans to play in the SANFL they would have to take away the Salary cap in the SANFL or Up the Salary Cap,

[sydney-dog]

syd ressie's side would get smashed

it is disrespectful to our comp to even mention that they are a chance of being competitive

[SimonH]

syd ressie's side would get smashed

it is disrespectful to our comp to even mention that they are a chance of being competitive

A fair while ago, but the most recent comparison between the two competitions certainly doesn't suggest that a team that dominates the ACTAFL would be uncompetitive in the SANFL:

1997 Inter-league Canberra SA 13 17 95 ACT 8 5 53

The standard of SANFL may well have improved since 1997, but not by a margin of 15 or 20 goals.

[JK]

syd ressie's side would get smashed

it is disrespectful to our comp to even mention that they are a chance of being competitive

A fair while ago, but the most recent comparison between the two competitions certainly doesn't suggest that a team that dominates the ACTAFL would be uncompetitive in the SANFL:

1997 Inter-league Canberra SA 13 17 95 ACT 8 5 53

The standard of SANFL may well have improved since 1997, but not by a margin of 15 or 20 goals.

30 scoring shots to 13, in an away game, plus added improvement to the standard/comp over here doesn't augur well though ...

[MagicKiwi]

I'm a yes. Something new, different, worth a try.

Maybe the All-Blacks could enter a side*

They already send a team to the Australian Country Championships don't they????


South Australia didn't send one this year because the SANFL are tight ar*es

Well NZ did, not God's Own Rugby Team heater. My cousin was picked in the squad but didn't make the side as he's getting a bit long in the tooth.

punky.

[sydney-dog]

SimonH

I see a fair bit of ACT and SFL footy, the swans ressies top up players each week from local SFL clubs, these players are usually local kids 18-20 yrs of age which they are looking at for the rookie list, trust me, they will get smashed in the sanfl

[SimonH]

SimonH

I see a fair bit of ACT and SFL footy, the swans ressies top up players each week from local SFL clubs, these players are usually local kids 18-20 yrs of age which they are looking at for the rookie list, trust me, they will get smashed in the sanfl

Last week, for example, the Swans reserves were comprised of 100% Sydney Swans players. Team list here. If you go back through the team list for the year you'll find that pretty much without exception they have played either 100% Swans or only one or two SFL top-up players. See my original long post for the reason why.

I'm not saying that they wouldn't get buried on occasion, but that's no newsflash: Centrals and Port have gotten buried on occasion this year, and they're not unworthy participants in the comp (c'mon everyone, don't go there). They would front up as a mid-range team on the face of it, and like all other potentially mid-range teams, their run with form, injuries etc could mean that they finish further up towards the top, or crash towards the bottom. Barring injury to 10 or so players, I could guarantee you they wouldn't do a Double Blues and get spanked by 100-odd points four weeks in a row.

I won't go into a long discussion of the calibre of the players, their training, their coaching etc that leads me to that conclusion. I'll just say we obviously have to agree to disagree-- bring it on and we'll see who's right!