SA Footy

A 2 part program on Headliners about the birth of the crows and the back door antics of Port and Norwood. Should be interesting, apparently talks about all the meetings the SANFL clubs had to decide if they were gonna enter the VFL/AFL.

i've just finished watching it. Port were up themselves even back then

Really makes you wonder what would've happened if the SANFL clubs had stuck it out for a few more years. There was a few vic/interstate clubs in some serious money probs. Maybe the AFL would've imploded and gone back to to a VFL type format without the money the Crows pumped in. (And the crows only went in to stop Port) Maybe the SANFL would still be masive if ALL the clubs held out for a few more years. F**k I hate Port.

What the judas' at Port didn't realise back then and based on the intellectual vacant space of their of their current president from last nights program doesn't realise now, is that in 1990 the AFL were halfway into a 4 year television rights agreement with channel 7 that was due to be renegotiated in 1991 after the 1987 broadcom disaster. (In 1988 Chanel 7 stepped in and picked up the rights at less than the market value after the broadcom deal went belly up - everyone remember watching VFL on channel 10 and ABC in 1987??)

THE AFL played Port for Patsies/stooges, their payback came in 1995 when it was a fait accompli they they would join the comp in 1997 instead of the Norwood Sturt bid

Ross needed an SA team to compete the AFL market in every mainland state thereby guaranteeing for TV a market in every state.

So the AFL got Port to the table to force the SANFLs hand to join under conditions that were far less beneficial to the SANFL and its clubs than they would have been if they waited until 1993 as was the plan.

Max and Leigh knew that if they waited with the plight of AFL clubs such as Brisbane, Footscray, and Fitzroy would have forced the AFL to come to the SANFL to join rather than the other way round as it was in 1990 as by 1992 the AFL would have needed the SANFL more (get extra revenue from TV rights) than the SANFL needed to join the AFL.

As I have posted elsewhere on this site previously by having an ordered and planned entry into the AFl would have allowed the SANFL clubs to plan for the reduced revenue and loss of players compared to having to plan for it in 2 months as was the case in 1990 prior to the start of the 1991 pre-season.

The end result as far as the AFL was concerned was that in late 1990 and 1991 Ross could go to the channel 7 and say, "Well here you are, you have a guaranteed market in every AFL state, including arguably the second biggest Australian Football state in the country, the cost of the AFL rights has now increased significantly - show me the money!!!"

Was an interesting watch ... Was an issue that didn't really affect me as much as a lot of other people I knew, but brought back memories of just how angry much of the footballing public were at the time (and how bitter many are today still)

Constance_Perm wrote:Was an interesting watch ... Was an issue that didn't really affect me as much as a lot of other people I knew, but brought back memories of just how angry much of the footballing public were at the time (and how bitter many are today still)

I still remember the day in broke into the media. I was furious and after work went to the Pink Pig in O'Connell St with my wife for dinner.

I was talking to her about it and I was very worked up being a SANFL fanatic and was over heard by obviously a Port supporter. Well I can tell you it ended up a very interesting dinner with insults flying around the tables.

Been meaning to get back to the Pink Pig, used to love that place, but I digress ... Was certainly a divisive issue, although I guess nowadays the majority of supporters are so wrapped up in the AFL that they either weren't around at the time it all went down, or don't care anymore.

In hindsight, there were probably a few positives that took place (along with the negatives), in particular had Port Magpies been removed from the SANFL I'd hate to see what state the comp would be in today ...

busboy wrote:Really makes you wonder what would've happened if the SANFL clubs had stuck it out for a few more years. There was a few vic/interstate clubs in some serious money probs. Maybe the AFL would've imploded and gone back to to a VFL type format without the money the Crows pumped in. (And the crows only went in to stop Port) Maybe the SANFL would still be masive if ALL the clubs held out for a few more years. F**k I hate Port.

What people seem to forget is that a few SANFL clubs werent exactly rolling in cash either. The SANFL needed the extra revenue just as much as the AFL needed the liscence money. Its more than possible that the SANFL could have been in a worse state had Max & Leigh kept pushing it back.

A lot of people seem to have the idea that had we waited two more years then the SANFL would still be massive. Stupid theory in my opinion. No matter when a team went in and no matter what the circumstance, things wouldnt have been any different. In any case, what Port did was suppsoed to gel the supporters to their clubs and gel SA football together. Thousnads upon thousands of people would still have jumped off their SANFL club if things were different.

I also strongly disagree with the theory that the AFL would have come running to the SANFL and bowed down to Ross and Leighs every command.

Constance_Perm wrote:In hindsight, there were probably a few positives that took place (along with the negatives), in particular had Port Magpies been removed from the SANFL I'd hate to see what state the comp would be in today ...

Here's an artists impression of the announcement that Port have been removed from the SANFL...



Two old ladies (pictured front-left) seem ecstatic whilst safooty's own "Booney" (right) looks dejected

Macca 19 I agree with you that not SANFL clubs were flush with funds (Save our South) and it was inevitable no matter when a team went into the AFL clubs would fold/merge and the SANFL would lose the "prestige" it once had.

However if all the SANFL clubs had shown solidarity with the SANFL and stuck with the agreed 1993 entry date the terms on which we enetered the AFl would have beem more in agreeable to SA footy and it would have given the SANFL clubs more time to plan for the entry of an SA based club into the AFL.

If we had held out the AFL would have been more keen to negotiate with us as Ross knew he had to have an SA team to gurantee an increase over and above inflation for the TV and other media rights to the AFL. he wouldn't have been running to us but he wouldn't have been in such a strong position to negotiate with the SANFL as he could simple say to them well if you don't like these terms I'll deal with Port as I know they are more receptive to my terms.....

Watched the replay tonight, I was only 9 when all this happened and remember how much people were going against Port! Its a very interesting debate but in hindsight I guess it worked out OK but all at the cost of the SANFL as we knew it.