All-Australian side shows South Australia not in greatest shape and would likely struggle against Big V or WA in State of Origin
SA football has had a tough year on the AFL national stage with the Crows and Port Adelaide missing finals again. But how does South Australian football look in total across the big league?
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Elite defines the top shelf — and with AFL talent “elite” has become overused as a tag of players, just as “champion” became thrust around like confetti in a previous era.
The past week — the “bye” before the start of the AFL top-eight final series on Thursday evening — defined the true elite of this season with the presentation of the All-Australian team, the Rising Star rookie-of-the-year Ron Evans Medal and the players’ AFLPA awards.
And the read from the leaderboards reinforces the question on the status on SA football in the AFL — and the revival of State-of-Origin football after a 20-year gap.
The 2019 All-Australian team has three South Australians — Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy, Brisbane midfielder Lachie Neale and West Coast premiership captain and defender Shannon Hurn, who for the second consecutive year was bewilderingly denied the captaincy.
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The AFLPA leaderboard for the Leigh Matthews Medal (won by Carlton midfielder Patrick Cripps) has Neale and Grundy in the top-five, third and fourth respectively.
The Rising Star top-10 leaderboard — that is a pointer to the future of elite AFL talent — is promising but far from stacked with SA-born talent: Just Port Adelaide forward Connor Rozee, who ranked second to Sam Walsh.
If you were a South Australian state selector facing the prospect of fielding an Origin team against Victoria — the dream match-up of Origin battles in the 1980s and 1990s — for an end-of-season classic, you would be frustrated.
By contrast, Western Australian football is overwhelmed with elite players. There are seven in this season’s All-Australian team: Captain and Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe, Dockers teammate Michael Walters, Brisbane small forward Charlie Cameron, Geelong midfielder Tim Kelly and West Coast crew Elliot Yeo, Jack Darling and Jeremy McGovern.
From goalsquare to goalsquare, the West Australians are in better shape than South Australia for forming a competitive Origin team to take on the Big V.
And they are keen to do so, as noted with the reaction of the WA Premier Mark McGowan’s eagerness for AFL Origin to follow NRL Origin to Perth Stadium.
After watching a record crowd of 59,321 file into the new arena for rugby league’s Origin clash — that will make a first appearance at Adelaide Oval next year — McGowan said: “The State-of-Origin between NSW and Queensland is a massive event and gets huge attention. It just reminds me that once upon a time Australian rules had a similar event and I think it should be reinstated.
“Imagine if we had Buddy Franklin and Nic Naitanui and Nat Fyfe all in the same team playing the Vics or the South Australians. It would enhance state pride, it would be a huge blockbuster event, it would attract tourists and I think it is time it was reinstated.”
SA Premier Steve Marshall might just go down the same path after Origin 2020 starts for the NRL at Adelaide Oval.
“Imagine,” Marshall could say, “Brodie Grundy tapping the ball to Lachie Neale to send the ball to the old scoreboard end for a big mark from .....”
Yes, who completes the sentence? Who is that elite South Australian-born key forward to carry the traditions set by Stephen Kernahan in Origin battles? Woodville-West Torrens exports Brennan Cox (at Fremantle) and Jack Lukosius (at Brisbane)?
The tag “elite” should not be thrown around like confetti in Adelaide. And we might just need to turn down that shout for a return of Origin in the AFL …
It is Week 10 of the e-newsletter Roast — which will be delivered fresh to inboxes on Tuesday — and Week 1 of the 2019 AFL finals series. For the second consecutive year, there will be no SA competitor in the top-eight series as the Crows and Port Adelaide deal with the disappointment of underperforming and underdelivering in the home-and-away season.
Crows premiership coach Malcolm Blight last week tagged the Adelaide Football Club as “mediocre”. How do the Crows stack up decade by decade in their first 29 seasons in the national league? The Roast crunches the numbers.
And there is a tribute to Eddie Betts, who appears destined to leave his pockets at Adelaide Oval to rediscover the sweet spots of the MCG for Carlton.
In Reality Bites, Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas has lifted the lid on some intriguing agreements former administrations at Alberton have signed with the AFL. The Roast digs deep.
The Roast will continue on The Advertiser website at advertiser.com.au on Wednesday and Thursday.
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