SA Footy

Poor South are in a bind but with all due respects IMHO and from an outsiders view here is what I think are the major problems.
1. The ground is an appauling place to watch and play football....cold windy and no atmosphere.
2. South dont seem to hold recruits for more than a year or two maybe because of the ground ....imagine training there three times a week in the middle of winter.
3. Draft choices from Crows and Power are a long way from home...they wont usually live down south so travel is a pain and seem unhappy there.
4. Long term lack of any success would make it difficult to recruit except by paying more than other clubs and this would attract the wrong ( Cupido ) type of players...and again not long term.
5. Short term the coach is not working outso he has to go.

After watching South last week I was amased they have fallen so far after last years encouraging signs.
Anyway this post is not mean to be nasty just a point of view...would like to know what the real Panther people think.

SDK wrote:Poor South are in a bind but with all due respects IMHO and from an outsiders view here is what I think are the major problems.
1. The ground is an appauling place to watch and play football....cold windy and no atmosphere.
2. South dont seem to hold recruits for more than a year or two maybe because of the ground ....imagine training there three times a week in the middle of winter.
3. Draft choices from Crows and Power are a long way from home...they wont usually live down south so travel is a pain and seem unhappy there.
4. Long term lack of any success would make it difficult to recruit except by paying more than other clubs and this would attract the wrong ( Cupido ) type of players...and again not long term.
5. Short term the coach is not working outso he has to go.

After watching South last week I was amased they have fallen so far after last years encouraging signs.
Anyway this post is not mean to be nasty just a point of view...would like to know what the real Panther people think.

I guess we all have different opinions on things.

My thoughts on a few of your points:
1. Personally I like the 'country' feel of the place (maybe living in the hills have something to do with this). catering is first class. Surface is one of the best going round. Agree on the wind, but there isnt much you can do about that. Atmosphere is better with the cars.
2. Drawing a bit of a low bow there. We've had good service out of some recruits, and others have been average.
3. Disagree strongly with this. We've had great service from Carlile, Torney and van Berlo when they have been available. Again, drawing a very low bow there mate.

I also have to disagree with a few of your comments SDK.
I beleive that the surface at Noarlunga is better than, Unley, Glenelg, Prospect , Norwood and Richmond. This is because after viewing the affor mentioned venues at quarter and 3/4 time breaks you would come to the conclusion that Hickinbotham Oval actually has grass on it.
The location is not ideal but the facilities are on the improve with a mutimillion dollar development now underway.
The catering is first class and caters for all tastes. The upstairs function room is simply the best viewing area in the sanfl.The presidents lunch is terrific and great value for money.
The cars around the oval initiative, despite my reservations at first ,I now believe is working well and adds at least some atmosphere to the ground.
For those who insist on driving to the ground, leave early and catch the southern expressway before it changes at 12.30. This will reduce your travelling time by 15-20 minutes.My preference is to catch the train from North terrace and commute to Noarlunga Station, alighting from the train it is a 200 m walk to the ground. The train costs about $8 return to North Tce-its a no brainer if you want to have a skinful at the footy.
So in summing up you could say that aside from the inept playing performance of the league team, things are going along reasonable well at Hickinbotham Oval.

Sounds to me like South are trying to sort themselves out off the field and that usually means more consistency down the track.

They are also very well placed in a growth area of Adelaide and, with the right groundwork, could really shore up a long-term future down there and get some juniors through. The U17's and U19's need some work by the looks tho.

1, - Agree and Disagree, I like the cars being able to access the ground and I think that idea has increased the numbers at some of the games, our last home game against North was a record between our two clubs. Yet I accept that the ground needs significantly more investment into it to make it look the part. A half decent public grandstand would be a good step forward.

2, - South seem to recruit heavilly and this seems to result in a disproportiante number of people moving through the club, its one thing to play for a club you went through the juniors with as opposed to being handed a guernsey and being told that these are the colours that you are expected to bleed and give your all for.

3, - Huge problem with the AFL recruits being assigned to the club that is geographically the furtherest away from Football Park. It is hardly fair to assign one recruit to an SANFL club 10 mins away as opposed to one 50 mins away. Yet I have no idea how we can solve that one in the short term.

4, - A huge vicious circle, if South broke through and won one, they would likely be able to win another. Lack of success and even competitiveness undoes the larger portion of the work that the club does to generate interest in SANFL football in the area. People are interested in football, yet not in a club that constantly loses.

5, - Looks like the club are taking the line that they are going to purge all of the players that dont like the coach and are sticking to their guns. Could well lead to a split in the club if people cant handle it proffessionally. Hopefully that doesnt happen, yet the sad thing is that it wouldent be the first time.....

hondo71 wrote:They are also very well placed in a growth area of Adelaide and, with the right groundwork, could really shore up a long-term future down there and get some juniors through. The U17's and U19's need some work by the looks tho.

Mate, that line was in the Budget in May 1994 when the opened Noarlunga Oval and repeated ad nauseum since then.

How long is it going to take...

South are a complete rabble. They recruit heavily every year looking for ex-afl "name" players who are only in it for the money south like to place under the table, and have no affection for the club or jumper.
Playing at noarlunga they should have a huge advantage, probably more than any other club including centrals, with the gale that blows through, they should be able to use that to their advantage.
I cant believe pyman is still there, usually if a club under achieves the coach cops it but pyman seems to coast through. With the players he has had at his disposal they should be alot more competetive.

1980 Tassie Medalist wrote:

hondo71 wrote:They are also very well placed in a growth area of Adelaide and, with the right groundwork, could really shore up a long-term future down there and get some juniors through. The U17's and U19's need some work by the looks tho.

Mate, that line was in the Budget in May 1994 when the opened Noarlunga Oval and repeated ad nauseum since then.

How long is it going to take...

Dunno .... should have happened by now I agree. But still doesn't change the fact that they are in a real growth area with the just announced further land releases.

Yep....been in a growth area for decades......no results.
Hope the ground has improved but I wont go there....been once would never go back...sorry but many people feel the same way.

Hang in there Panther supporters.

Success often comes after a bit of heartache...

I think you've summed things up pretty well Blue and White.

I was impressed with Noarlunga when I went there this year - couldn't complain about the facilities at all and the ground was in good nick.

As for the wind, well it's supposed to be a winter sport, you just prepare for it prior to leaving home for the game.

Constance_Perm wrote:I was impressed with Noarlunga when I went there this year - couldn't complain about the facilities at all and the ground was in good nick.

As for the wind, well it's supposed to be a winter sport, you just prepare for it prior to leaving home for the game.

By prepare, I assume you mean taking some rope to tie yourself to a fence post? But I agree with your sentiment.

Cambridge Clarrie wrote:Hang in there Panther supporters.

Success often comes after a bit of heartache...

I think you've summed things up pretty well Blue and White.

I believe that South have had a lot of heartache over the years.

saintal wrote: I guess we all have different opinions on things.

My thoughts on a few of your points:
1. Personally I like the 'country' feel of the place (maybe living in the hills have something to do with this). catering is first class. Surface is one of the best going round. Agree on the wind, but there isnt much you can do about that. Atmosphere is better with the cars.
2. Drawing a bit of a low bow there. We've had good service out of some recruits, and others have been average.
3. Disagree strongly with this. We've had great service from Carlile, Torney and van Berlo when they have been available. Again, drawing a very low bow there mate.

They dont sell Farmers Union Iced Coffee at Noarlunga! Thats not first class catering in my books.

I think if Pyman was to go, it would be a case of it being easier to sack the coack than 10 players. I agree with their president coming out and getting stuck into the players. Going from the way they played against Port to the way they played in the last few weeks, that difference doesn't come about by bad coaching. The players are soft, and seemingly dont care about the club. Find out which ones they are and get rid of them. You cant have the players running the show, because the next time one of their "overpaid hacks" gets benched, dropped or something else that makes him unhappy, he'll just go against the coach and try to get him sacked. No one person is bigger than the club.

South have been a rabble for too long. Its time they made a few tough decisions.

Extremely dissapointing predicament at the moment. Man on man positive footy might be a good start. I think South need to start having a limit on ex AFL players in the team. Two per year which they did do this year. So that doesn't work. There is a serious losing culture down there and has always has been since early nineties. I thought they were turning it around last year but back to square one. All I and other Panther supporters ask is that they put in honest attractive positive footy. It is like giving the baby some candy last year and taking it away from them this year. How does a club like Centrals which were in a similar position to us less than 10 years ago turn it around. If I was in the inner sanctum I would be taking the centrals heirachy out for lunch to see how it was done. A lot of hard work must have been done to get them to where they are now. Players show some fight for the supporters sake.

another problem for south adelaide, is the players in the local SFL that are of league standard, dont want to play for SOuth for various reasons..........

For south to move forward i believe they should ditch the game plan for the rest of the year and just play attacking footy

try and have a shoot-out because the fire-power is there to cause damage...

I'm new to the site and I have been following the South Adelaide threads for sometime. I know most of the playing group quite well and just like to say that I stand with them if they have a problem. I have my reasons.

When our coach was appointed 4 years ago, he stated he would change the losing culture.
This has not happened. It was a 4 to 5 year plan.
If he stays in 2008, we as supporters/members expect the results.

The coach got the recruits their in the 1st place. He needs to justify it and be accountable for it!!

I believe that South have had a lot of heartache over the years.

Yep...43 years...

southee wrote:When our coach was appointed 4 years ago, he stated he would change the losing culture.
This has not happened. It was a 4 to 5 year plan.
If he stays in 2008, we as supporters/members expect the results.

The coach got the recruits their in the 1st place. He needs to justify it and be accountable for it!!

good point

the club broke the salary cap getting some of these recruits over, maybe they are happy just taking the $$$$$