'Player exodus to SA' from the WAFL

[Jimmy]

http://www.footygoss.com.au/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=31452

Interesting little article from footygoss.

Amazing how their cap is only $160,000.

[Wedgie]

Thanks for the link Jimmy, interesting reading.
Just shows how bad the WAFL is going, 160k is a joke.
Assuming most clubs have a senior list of at least 40 players that's less than 4k a player.
Throw in the fact that people like Woeweodin get a lot better than that (obviously) and it means most WAFL players get a pittance.
Probably all falls back to 1987 when they caved into the VFL instead of helping the SANFL set up a truly national competion.
Not much pity in my household.

[Jimmy]

I understand theirs and to a lesser extent the VFL's concerns, but we got (and still get) shafted so yeah. Survival of the fittest really. But in saying that, a healthy SANFL, VFL and WAFL is really what we need to keep true state rivalry alive.

[Leaping Lindner]

Back in the late 90's Swan Districts keep looking like they would make the finals half way the season and then fall away by the time September came. When questioned on this the Swan Districts CEO (at the time don't know if he's still there) said the following (or pretty close)
"We aren't here to win the premiership. We are hear to make money from developing players for the AFL."
That's a very sad attitude to have. To say the least.

[Adelaide Hawk]

We (SANFL) thought we had it tough when the Crows entered the AFL, but the WAFL and their clubs really were shafted by the West Coast Eagles entering the AFL. They never really recovered from the initial blow and have struggled ever since. I think they do a good job considering their situation.

Back in the late 60s and 70s, it always bemused me when I heard cries of how the VFL were "raping" the SANFL by taking all our players. At the time, there were probably no more than 8 or so SA players in the VFL. At the same time, if you looked through the playing lists of the 10 SANFL clubs, they were littered with players from other states, especially the VFL, VFA, Tasmania and WA.

We didn't like the Vics taking our players and yet we didn't have any problem with securing recruits from other states. Always seemed hypocritical to me.

[BPBRB]

Here is the article which isn't completely factual:

WA footballers continue to be lured to South Australia by the SANFL’s larger salaries, with Brent LeCras and Justin Perkins recently continuing the alarming trend.

LeCras and Perkins were recently de-listed by the Kangaroos but signed with SANFL club Port Adelaide rather than returning to West Perth and Perth, their respective original clubs.

The player exodus is expected to continue with the SANFL approving a salary cap increase from $305,000 to $340,000 next season. The WAFL’s salary cap stands at $160,000 – more than half that of the SANFL’s with next year’s increase.

Troy Butcher (East Perth), Ben Colreavy (Claremont), Kingsley Walker (Peel) and Craig Parry (Subiaco) have been lured to South Australia in recent years, while former WAFL players Steven Koops (West Perth) and Paul Lindsay (East Fremantle) opted to play for more money in the SANFL after completing their AFL careers, similar to LeCras and Perkins’ pathway.

A recent change to player transfer fees could help restrict the player exodus to South Australia.

The transfer fee for a player moving interstate has been increased from $4,000 to $10,000, but it can also work against WAFL clubs as recruiting interstate players to WA also becomes more difficult.

This issue failed to be addressed by the recently-released Future Directions Report, with one aim to enhance the “penalty strength for breaches in the WAFL salary cap”.

The same point of the report stated that the salary cap is “recommended” to remain at $160,000 (plus $15,000 for service payments) until the end of 2009. By then the SANFL salary cap could be near $400,000.

It is no secret that most WAFL clubs are struggling financially. But if no changes are made in the near future, we could see more and more WAFL and ex-AFL players finishing out their careers in the powerful South Australian competition.

The list of players mentioned that had left the comp are not all home grown Sandgropers. Koops was from the NT originally and Kinglsey Walker comes from Kangaroo Island. I'm not sure if all the others are the genuine original WA types either but someone like Spelly might be able to research that?

They can't blame players for wanting to go home - as they happens in all comps. It doesn't of course mention the players from the SANFL and VFL that have returned home to WA or choose to move to the WAFL for opportunity. Still when have journalists let fact get in the way of sensation?

[Barto]

The article is a bit sensationalist. There's still plenty of players that stay here and play for the love of the jumper.

The screaming about the salary cap is a furphy by a couple of richer clubs, yes I'm looking at you SUBIACO. The clubs here dont have the income streams that the SANFL clubs do, so raising the cap is pointless as it will just send clubs to the wall.

There wouldn't be any player in the SANFL who could live off their player payments, so in reality employment and family issues would be the driving force in where a player goes to. There's more potential for suitably qualified people to earn a greater pay packet in WA than SA, football payments dont even come into it. Would Brent LeCras move to Adelaide if he couldn't find a job?

[Adelaide Hawk]

Very good question Barto. That's how clubs get around salary caps.

[GWW]

We (SANFL) thought we had it tough when the Crows entered the AFL, but the WAFL and their clubs really were shafted by the West Coast Eagles entering the AFL. They never really recovered from the initial blow and have struggled ever since. I think they do a good job considering their situation.

Back in the late 60s and 70s, it always bemused me when I heard cries of how the VFL were "raping" the SANFL by taking all our players. At the time, there were probably no more than 8 or so SA players in the VFL. At the same time, if you looked through the playing lists of the 10 SANFL clubs, they were littered with players from other states, especially the VFL, VFA, Tasmania and WA.

We didn't like the Vics taking our players and yet we didn't have any problem with securing recruits from other states. Always seemed hypocritical to me.

I think the point though is that the VFL clubs would splash big money around and take the elite players in the SANFL, WAFL etc, whilst those leagues would be taking players who presumably couldn't make it in those "lesser" leagues". I think theres a bit of a difference.

[Adelaide Hawk]

We (SANFL) thought we had it tough when the Crows entered the AFL, but the WAFL and their clubs really were shafted by the West Coast Eagles entering the AFL. They never really recovered from the initial blow and have struggled ever since. I think they do a good job considering their situation.

Back in the late 60s and 70s, it always bemused me when I heard cries of how the VFL were "raping" the SANFL by taking all our players. At the time, there were probably no more than 8 or so SA players in the VFL. At the same time, if you looked through the playing lists of the 10 SANFL clubs, they were littered with players from other states, especially the VFL, VFA, Tasmania and WA.

We didn't like the Vics taking our players and yet we didn't have any problem with securing recruits from other states. Always seemed hypocritical to me.

I think the point though is that the VFL clubs would splash big money around and take the elite players in the SANFL, WAFL etc, whilst those leagues would be taking players who presumably couldn't make it in those "lesser" leagues". I think theres a bit of a difference.

Not true. In those days the SANFL could recruit state players from the VFL and WAFL such as Ross Dillon, Gary Hardeman, John Wynne, Tony Casserly, Greg Brehaut, Phil Tierney, Bob Shearman, Len Fitzgerald, etc.

[GWW]

I think you'd find there would always be movement between SA and WA leagues, in a similar manner in which country footballers often move between leagues. Those leagues are fairly similar in size, the major point is the historical link between the VFL and SANFL.

I dont think the SANFL has traditionally attracted (the old) VFL's best players by offering larger amounts of money, but look at the way the VFL took Bradley, Kernahan, Hall, Platten, R Ebert, Davies etc etc etc etc. Very rarely would an SANFL club recruit an elite VFL player in their prime simply because of a higher monetary offer.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Very rarely would an SANFL club recruit an elite VFL player in their prime simply because of a higher monetary offer.

And yet we return to my original comment .. we still recruited them.

[GWW]

Very rarely would an SANFL club recruit an elite VFL player in their prime simply because of a higher monetary offer.

And yet we return to my original comment .. we still recruited them.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say. I think SA football footballers have traditionally been annoyed with the arrogance of the VFL who have traditionally taken the SANFL's best players, and yet the average Victorian football supporter is extremely ignorant/dismissive about SA's (and WA's) football tradition. I dont think you can compare VFL clubs plundering SA's best footballers, with SA clubs recruiting players from Victoria who are certainly not elite players within the VFL competition. It probably comes down to the fact that fringe VFL players were more interested in playing in a higher level of football than playing VFL reserves or VFA.

It looks now like some Victorian AFL clubs are being caught out because they cant simply outbid everyone else, they're actually having to develop their players, and have a sound administration, and obviously these are areas where they're lacking. Its certainly ironical given that the current recruiting procedures of the AFL were established by VFL administrators, and yet with 11 clubs the AFL clubs cant stay competitive. Looks like we're now seeing that. The recent performances of AFL clubs and the Victorian based administrators doesn't really say a lot about the performance of "Victorian football".

[magpie in the 80's]

hhhmmm roylion and philg in disguise???

[bayman]

Very rarely would an SANFL club recruit an elite VFL player in their prime simply because of a higher monetary offer.

sturt='the dominator wayne johnston' did not know how do do a lace-up jumper up