by Tiger83 » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:45 pm
From SFL Facebook page:
The following paper was sent to clubs today, inviting discussion around recreating a two division structure in the SFL. Any feedback that can be added to the process will gratefully be taken on board. This is a paper designed to create discussion, any final proposal will be created based on feedback received from clubs and SFL supporters.
Southern Football League – Two Divisional Competition
Introduction
There still exists in the Southern Football League (SFL) disparate results as some A grade teams struggle to become competitive again. With two clubs moving to Adelaide Footy League at the end of last season and the withdrawal of Hackham from the A and B grade competition the league has become an 11-team competition with 2 clubs still facing regular heavy defeats at A grade level. A two-division structure has been previously rejected as a possibility due to there currently being less clubs in the competition than there were when the previous 2 division competitions were merged into a single division competition, and the fact that only one club self-identified as being a division 2 club.
Possible 2 Division Scenario
With Hackham enjoying success playing in the C grade competition another possibility has arisen for the formation of a second division; making the C grade competition the basis of a second division.
This could give the following scenario based on current circumstances
Division 1 Division 2
Morphett Vale OSB/Lonsdale
Flagstaff Hill Marion
Noarlunga Hackham
Cove Reynella
Christies Beach Happy Valley (1 team)
Port Noarlunga Flagstaff Hill (1 team)
Reynella Morphett Vale (1 team)
Happy Valley Christies Beach (1 team)
Aldinga
A 9-team division 1 competition would see teams playing each other twice each, home and away, with 2 byes. This leaves room for one of the division 2 clubs to return to division 1 once they had rebuilt, or for another club to join our competition. A 5-team finals structure would see finals remain a 4-week program.
An 8-team division 2 program is definitely viable, leading to a 4-team finals structure played over 3 weeks, with the division 2 grand final held the weekend before the division 1 grand final. Programming around clubs without a division 2 B grade team could be managed using A grade double headers to minimise splitting up of clubs on the day.
Further Considerations
Many issues would need to be worked through. Among these are: -
- Saturday or Sunday competition, or a hybrid
o Initial SFL executive thoughts are for this to be a Saturday based competition. Being on a Saturday would free up space on Sunday for the mini-league and female competitions. There is currently consideration for moving mini-league to single year age groups, U8, U9, U10, U11 and U12. There has been expressed interest from 4 clubs about joining in the female competitions in 2018.
- Junior grades
o Suggestion would be for division 2 to be non-mandatory 2 junior grade competitions, possibly under 14s and under 17s. The existing Sunday junior competition could form the basis of the division 2 juniors. Consideration would need to be given to whether this became a Saturday grade or remained on Sunday. There is currently consideration for forming an under 12 competition either in place of or in parallel with the existing under 12 participation grade. This would allow under 12 players from the division 2 clubs to play a competition grade if they don’t have access to under 13s at their club.
- Promotion/Relegation
o Initial suggestion is for promotion and relegation to be based on end of season reviews of all club performances. Once the competitions have matured regulations can be put in place for automatic or semi-automatic promotion and relegation. A possibility exists for a challenge match to be a part of the promotion/relegation system.
- Protection for Division 2 Clubs
o Particularly at junior levels some protection from large losses of players to division 1 clubs may be required to allow the division 2 clubs the opportunity to rebuild.
Conclusion
It is strongly felt that serious exploration of these ideas should be undertaken for the future health of our league. The reformation of division 2 would enable currently struggling clubs the opportunity to rebuild whilst enjoying some on field success and would leave us a relatively competitive division 1. There may also be the opportunity for other clubs to consider moving (back) to the SFL or to field some teams in the SFL.