Southern Football League

[damian]

It’s no good to anyone now, but I always said when the SFL was a 15 team competition with a top eight finals series, they should’ve been playing a Division Two final series as well. Give the Clubs down the bottom something to strive for, but also allowing them to play the best sides in the minor rounds which helps to generate income through gate takings and sales at the Club when hosting them.

Arguably, the SFL was healthier with 15 teams. Sure some teams were thumped, but it will be no different again this year. The Clubs should’ve been helped with a plan to keep them engaged and participation numbers high.

Example of how it could’ve worked, kept participation numbers and interest high at all Clubs.

SFL Div 1 Finals
Flagstaff Hill
Reynella
Port Noarlunga
Brighton
Happy Valley
Edwardstown
Cove
Christies Beach

SFL Div 2 Finals
Noarlunga
Morphettville Park
Morphett Vale
Hackham
Aldinga

14th & 15th
O’Sullivan Beach/Lonsdale
Marion

[LaughingKookaburra]

If you’re having to do that then the model is broken in the first place. Let’s be upfront, there are many leagues across SA that need an overhaul in the way they are structured and this requires an overall review from the CFL. River Murray and Mallee amalgamated and it has assisted that region greatly. There are so many leagues in this state that should merge or re-zone it’s ridiculous.

[wenchbarwer]

The league is a mess, leadership failure at SFL HQ which is no surprise, in the last decade there have been 16 clubs play in this league with little to no consistency with how they have gone about keeping or letting clubs go.

Letting a strong club like Brighton leave started the rot.

5 of the 6 clubs that left didn't provide full Saturday junior teams (Morphie Parks, Hackham, Marion, OSB Lonsdale) or had no juniors at all (Edwardstown), so it was a really disjointed Saturday comp, which contributed to clubs leaving. This then gave them an opportunity to fix internal issues like becoming competitive in lower AdelFL grades, re-establishing their juniors, or in Townies case, fixing the split in their club.

The only "issue" Brighton had was that some of their better juniors were playing school footy on Saturday, but their teams were still very competitive and were perennial finalists in under age comps.

In fairness to the SFL, they didn’t let Brighton go. We had been considering the move back to the SAAFL for a few years but the junior structure of the SFL compared to the alternatives was just as much reason for staying and probably outweighed what was best for our senior program. SANFL Juniors was the game changer. We fielded teams in the first year (2016) whilst maintaining a full set of SFL Saturday junior teams. Then a Div 3 spot in the SAAFL was available to us in 2017 so the time was right. I think the biggest issue with the SFL is that the admin and some of the clubs are still trying to run the comp as a country league when for a number of years it’s been essentially a metro league.

What do you mean by this DTH?




Noarlunga's problem is caused by their own hand, plain and simple. Years of trying to replicate 2014 by trying to buy flags every year, to the detriment of their junior program. Now, the current committee has a shitshow on their hands and are crying poor, but it is what it is.

[Dutchy]

Noarlunga had 3 senior teams only 5 months ago, their C grade played in a Semi Final, while I know they have had their issues with juniors which is hurting now, but something else must have happened in the last 5 months to go from 50+ senior players.

[wenchbarwer]

Noarlunga had 3 senior teams only 5 months ago, their C grade played in a Semi Final, while I know they have had their issues with juniors which is hurting now, but something else must have happened in the last 5 months to go from 50+ senior players.

By all accounts there's barely a dozen at training.

Mercenaries are always going to jump ship once they see others leave, seems to be this time it's the bolted on regulars who are bailing as well.

They played in a GF in 2023 as well, and they've had a complete coaching and committee overhaul since then. Maybe the policy of paying to win a flag has been discontinued?

[Down the Hill]

Wenchy - I just think some clubs and league admin have remained too wedded to "the full day of footy" experience because that's how we've done it for years etc. etc.

College footy aside, I was seeing less and less parents and kids hang around to watch the seniors. And I'm talking other clubs not just Brighton because plenty on here would love to remind me that we weren't a big crowd club - certainly when we played away.

I've seen a bit of RMFL footy in recent years and most of the town seems to be at the footy when playing home and still a fair chunk when playing away. The link with Netball is also a major factor with the full day experience in the genuine country leagues.

But the SFL with no netball link and no country town restrictions on having other options with how you spend some of your Saturday then I just think they are caught somewhere in the middle of how AdFL/SANFL Juniors and country footy/netball is structured and possibly needed to address this issue some years ago.

[wenchbarwer]

Wenchy - I just think some clubs and league admin have remained too wedded to "the full day of footy" experience because that's how we've done it for years etc. etc.

College footy aside, I was seeing less and less parents and kids hang around to watch the seniors. And I'm talking other clubs not just Brighton because plenty on here would love to remind me that we weren't a big crowd club - certainly when we played away.

I've seen a bit of RMFL footy in recent years and most of the town seems to be at the footy when playing home and still a fair chunk when playing away. The link with Netball is also a major factor with the full day experience in the genuine country leagues.

But the SFL with no netball link and no country town restrictions on having other options with how you spend some of your Saturday then I just think they are caught somewhere in the middle of how AdFL/SANFL Juniors and country footy/netball is structured and possibly needed to address this issue some years ago.

Yeah, good points.

Personally, I love the full day experience in the SFL, I think the whole of club feel is really important, as it helps feed players into the senior side. It's no coincidence that the big 4 clubs are all stacked with former juniors, as often they'll play for much less (with the exception of Portie$ ) for the chance to win a flag with mates.

Crowd numbers also appear to be quite healthy across the league, too. Was a bit noticeable that the numbers were down at the Emus last year, though, given that they knew the season would be pushing the proverbial uphill, was probably to be expected.

I feel like the issues facing the teams under the pump are very different situations:
Aldinga - perennial struggler, good numbers in all grades though, and growth isn't far away. Expanding area down there should provide a pipeline of juniors.
Morphett Vale - decimated by players following coach to Blackwood, plus retirements of key players as well. Didn't hide behind it, knew 2025 would be horrendous. Will be a long climb back but seem to be on the right track. Junior numbers okay but could improve.
Ironbank - set up like a Hills team (2 junior, 2 senior), with a number going back to Bridgewater. Caught in no-man's land in competitiveness, will be an interesting watch this year
Noarlunga - an absolute clown show, gone from a GF in 2023 to now needing 15 more names to field two senior sides. Juniors is as bare as it gets, it would not be a surprise if the Shoes either merged or folded in the next 12 months.

[Show Time]

Has anything been confirmed that Noarlunga will fill sides or is it just rumours and a guess at the moment?

[wenchbarwer]

Has anything been confirmed that Noarlunga will fill sides or is it just rumours and a guess at the moment?

They've only confirmed that they need players to fill sides, the Tiser article says the SFL and SANFL have given them extra time to get the numbers:

Noarlunga facing senior footy crisis ahead of 2026 Southern Football League season
The Southern Football League’s most successful club could pull out of senior competition this year as it faces an ‘unprecedented’ player crisis.
February 27, 2026 - 3:31PM

A once mighty local SA footy club could be set to pull out of A Grade competition for the first time in its 129-year history as it struggles with player retention and recruitment.

Noarlunga Football Club, the oldest outfit in the Southern Football League, has seen a number of player retirements and departures since the conclusion of the 2025 season and currently needs around 15 more signatures to field a side.

“At the moment we’re in a rebuilding situation at the footy club – we’ve struggled for numbers in the U17s over the past two or three years and it has now impacted the senior group,” club president Bill Sheean said.

“We’ve had a lot of senior guys depart or retire this year and we’ve now lost more players than we can bring in … we’re working through trying to get two sides up currently.

“It’s a very dog-eat-dog world in local footy when it comes to signing or retaining players and the vultures circle when they hear a club is struggling.

“It’s an unprecedented situation for us … it’s a tough situation.”

Noarlunga has claimed 10 premierships throughout its time in the SFL, the most in the competition, with the most recent coming in 2014.

Among this year’s departures has been club legend Nick Mott, a star of the 2014 premiership team and a dual Mail Medallist.

Sheean admitted it had been hard to sell the club to potential senior signings during the exodus of players.

“From a senior player aspect, they want to know what the cattle is before they come out, so it has been tough.

“The league, along with the SANFL, has been really supportive of the situation and they understand where we’re at.

“They’ve made allowances for us to give us additional time to get a team up but it really comes down to the drive and the support of the locals and the players themselves.

“We’re turning to the community to gather around us and give us some support … there’s probably not enough drive in the community for footy and footy clubs at the moment with other sports competing and players and kids coming through being split between sports.”

While Sheean was unsure if the club could pull together a side for this year and the impact of that moving forward, he still remained positive about the future of the Shoes.

“We’re fully focused on putting a senior side in and what that’s going to look like and the league will have some say … for us as a footy club the hard part is if we can’t get this up, how will that impact future seasons?

“We still have a really strong junior program and that is going to continue to drive us, we just need the player group on the track this year.

“We know there will still be a future … we’re strong and we’re not going anywhere.

“This situation hasn’t been from a lack of effort. Our committee and volunteers have worked tirelessly on recruitment, and we’ve proudly had a number of players commit and sign with us. Unfortunately, some have attended training, seen the current numbers, and walked away.

“We want our community to know we are not sitting on our hands. We are fighting for this club every day. What we need now are people who understand the position we’re in, are ready to be part of a genuine rebuild, see the opportunity to shape the future and are willing to help drive this proud club forward.”

The bit about having a really strong junior program sure did give me a laugh!!