Q&A with Adelaide Footy League chief executive John Kernahan on 2018 season and the year ahead
Adelaide Footy League boss John Kernahan says the unwanted headlines that put the competition in the spotlight in 2018 are an unfair reflection on the league in a wide-ranging Q&A.
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Two clubs dumped, a captain banned for life and several violent incidents caught on camera – these were the headlines that put the Adelaide Footy League in unwanted spotlight in 2018.
So how is the league responding on the eve of a new season?
Messenger Community News football writer Patrick Keam sat down for a Q&A with league chief executive John Kernahan, who said those headlines did not represent the thriving growth of Adelaide’s largest amateur sporting competition.
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What are you looking forward to most about season 2019?
Season 2018 was a challenge at every level, so we’re simply looking forward to getting back on the horse. We are not so naive to believe we won’t be faced with something out of the box again but every year we get better at dealing with what is presented to us.
The league made headlines in last year on more than one occasion. How has the AdFL come through after a tough 2018?
We don’t for a moment consider 2018 a failure. If anything we were faced with the challenge of standing up and we did. Privately we take great comfort in the support we receive from the majority of clubs who accept we’re doing a job for them, quite possibly having to make some unpopular decisions, but doing so in the interest of not only the league, but the game of footy in general.
Many outside the league, rightly or wrongly, would have seen certain on-field incidents as a reflection on the wider competition. What do think of that?
It is an unfair reflection on the wider Adelaide footy community, though we accept we can do better in isolating those who continue to do the right thing from the very small minority who don’t. What was confronting in analysing the 2018 season was four clubs, which represent a mere four per cent of our total number of teams, were responsible for 40 per cent of matches suspended. That is a disgraceful reflection of 20 clubs who managed to go through the season with no reports and another 27 who appeared just once, and for relatively minor offences.
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Salisbury West captain Adam Jones was suspended for 27 games and banned from football for life after a series of on-field incidents in the one game. Do you believe these strong sanctions were the right decision?
Not only do we think they were the right decisions at the time, we’d do exactly the same if faced with similar again. Our charter is really clear. It is to keep the game accessible financially and is to encourage participation. Most decisions made have a direct line drawn between the decision and those pillars in our strategic plan.
Where does Salisbury West stand in regard to returning to the league?
We haven’t heard from the Salisbury West Football Club on their plans, so the question may be a moot one. But should they choose to apply, they’ll do so under the auspices of a new club, which is a new application and no right of reply if the league denies their application but still subject to approval by member clubs if the league does accept their application.
Are you confident Salisbury North has the people in place to prevent indiscretions upon its return to the league?
The short answer is if we didn’t, they’d be sitting on the sidelines themselves. The fundamental difference between the Salisbury North Football Club that we know today to the one we knew in the past is a total acceptance of responsibility for their members, playing or off field by the management of their club. That in itself allows us to have a level of confidence in them that we have with almost every other club. They’re not immune from another indiscretion, as any other clubs isn’t, but our challenge has been to have them accept their role in this as a footy club. The lines of communication are open. They share with us their challenges and their progress, they ask for help, and they accept our counsel if we offer it.
How is the new behavioural rating system to deal with clubs that push the boundaries at the tribunal going to be beneficial?
The most poignant lesson learned through the Salisbury West matter was a lack of detail readily available to refer as to why there were concerns. What was also uncovered was a very small number of clubs who had been flying under the radar, whilst one or two others were wearing the brunt of all concerns. The absolute beauty of the new system is it is not subjective, it is non-negotiable. It doesn’t allow for suggestions of discrimination and it does not allow anyone to hide.
What other changes will clubs, players and fans see in 2019?
The most significant change is our league will appear more and more on social media. The league will be filming every A-grade match from divisions one to four with some clubs voluntarily engaging videographers for reserve and C-grade level. From division five and below, clubs are videoing anywhere between four to nine of their A-grade matches.
How do you see the new rule changes impacting local football?
One of the challenges we have is navigating the disparity footy fans in general see on Friday nights with the relatively elite minority, to what they see in community footy grounds, whether that be the way coaches coach, players play or umpires umpire the game. We have traditionally avoided falling into line with rules changes the AFL makes, given some are as a result of satisfying a viewer on television or because AFL coaches have manipulated the way the game is played to suit their game style.
What other challenges does the league face, generally, moving forward?
Oval space to accommodate our newest participant (women’s football). For some time we have been forewarning all clubs with an interest in women’s footy that the growth of the game has presented a significant volume of challenges, logistics and club expectations being the most significant. As we speak it is now a 61-team competition with clubs as far south as Christies Beach, as far north as Angle Vale and as far on the South East Freeway as Mount Barker. Most with one senior team, some with two and one with three. Our existing women’s clubs will also need to be very aware that it is highly likely that in 2020, the AdFLW competition will run parallel with the SANFLW competition. A legacy of that is players will not be doubling up to play SANFLW on Saturday and AdFLW on Sunday.
patrick.keam@news.com.au