For and on Behalf of AdFL League Executive
Dear all.
I suspect most if not all are loosely aware of a recent challenge the League has endured with respect to a match between Scotch Old Collegians and the Westminster Old Scholars Football Clubs and a disputed player permit.
Westminster OS subsequently sought an appeal via SANFL Regulations. The SANFL Tribunal then overturned both the AdFL and SACFL determinations of breach.
We have begrudgingly accepted the outcome though not without exhausting all possible pathways for not only the Scotch Old Collegians but the overarching integrity of our competition. It would reek of hypocrisy to offer a defiance to the determination when we have recently lamented an emerging culture of challenging the Umpires decision as it were.
Then of course there's the long-held notion if only unwritten of acting in the spirit of the game if not in the interests of our league in general which can’t be taught or mandated. We staunchly maintain our own regulations in isolation support our own findings and with some level of comfort, validated by the SACFL.
However, Westminster will play tomorrow in the Elimination Final against Edwardstown at Edwardstown though this matter will be addressed long after the match has been played, won or lost. We very much hope our clubs will stand next to us as we continue to strive for a greater level of compliance to our own regulations if not the values this league strives.
Though for the first time since being affiliated with South Australian National Football League we find our Regulations being compromised by a contradiction in interpretations of the respective rules between ours and the SANFL. It is simply not good enough and we all must be better.
The Scotch OC FC has been failed and has every right to feel aggrieved as the only party to act responsibly and many other AdFL Clubs have expressed heightened frustrations and offered a level of support for them and to a lesser degree the position The League finds itself.
To that end, it is our responsibility to our member clubs and we make no apologies that those interpretations will be remedied before we return for season 2023.
Regards,
John Kernahan | Chief Executive Officer
What a cluster ****, gotta feel sorry for all involved - from the SACFL to the AdFL to Scotch and even WOS. Shit way to end the season.
3 way round robin play off between Edwardstown, Scotch, WOS for 5th. Can't see any of them winning again beyond the EF.
