No winners from 19th man saga, not even grand finalists North Adelaide and Norwood, after the SANFL’s tough ‘lose-lose’ decision
THERE are no winners out of the SANFL’s ‘19th man’ saga — certainly not Woodville-West Torrens, nor the league and not even North Adelaide or Norwood, Messenger sports editor and SANFL reporter Matt Turner writes.
- Godden says his players feel let down
- Roo: SANFL did not make correct call
- Tribunal judge: Replay ‘most appropriate penalty’
- Roosters deserve grand final spot, Carr says
GOLF great Tiger Woods once declared “winning takes care of everything”.
If only that sentiment applied to the fallout from this year’s SANFL preliminary final.
North Adelaide players, supporters and officials might today feel they have won after the league’s tribunal last night upheld the club’s controversial five-point victory over Woodville-West Torrens and confirmed the Roosters’ spot in Sunday’s flag decider against Norwood.
And it is true that only the Roosters and Redlegs can now claim the 2018 flag.
But the reality was last night was always going to be a lose-lose decision for the SANFL.
Either the league, via its tribunal, would make the unprecedented move to overturn a preliminary final result, or it would allow a team that broke a major rule — fielding an extra man for almost four minutes in the fourth term — to play off for a flag.
Ultimately, retired Supreme Court judge Michael David QC opted for the latter.
That means clearly the Eagles have lost because their premiership hopes were finally quashed, 29 hours after the end of Sunday’s game, despite many calling for the result to be overturned or the SANFL to step in and schedule a replay of the match.
The league has also taken a hit because this saga has not only affected the build-up to and anticipation for their showpiece day, but ensured one of the best games of football at any level in recent years will always be remembered as the ‘19th man match’.
Then there is North Adelaide, which may end its 27-year premiership drought and cap a bottom-to-premiers rise on Sunday.
But the Roosters would do so with a huge external question mark over whether they should even be in the grand final and also a sense of ‘I wonder what would have happened if it was 18 v 18 all match against the Eagles?’
No one can say for sure.
Even Norwood will have to cop the ‘but you beat a team that shouldn’t have been there’ jibes if they win on Sunday and if the ‘Legs lose, it’ll become ‘we shouldn’t have been playing North and we’d have beaten the Eagles’.
I didn’t envy the SANFL’s position before last night’s decision was announced — it was always going to be contentious and make a lot of people unhappy, either way.
And I am still unsure which one is the right call.
I’ve heard from Roosters fans who have stood by their club, said it was an unfortunate mistake and that the tribunal could not do anything other than allow their win to stand.
North supporters I know have also said the club broke the rules and they reluctantly believed the result should have been overturned.
Likewise with the Eagles — lots of Woodville-West Torrens fans are angry, saying the club has been robbed; others reckon if you cough up a 47-point lead, you don’t deserve to play in a grand final and if the captain does not call for a headcount, that’s tough luck.
Debate will rage on — even after this Sunday’s final siren.
Yet if winning took care of everything, as Woods suggested, the grand final result would be celebrated and accepted, and people could soon move on.
That won’t happen here.
Much more so than after a controversial umpiring decision in a close grand final, there will unfortunately be a weird feeling regarding the outcome of this Sunday’s game — and therefore this whole SANFL season — for many years to come.
Matt Turner is Messenger Community News’ Sports Editor and has covered the SANFL for eight years.