Port Adelaide Magpies are smiling and so is SANFL chief Chris Davies
THE Magpies’ domination of the SANFL has many fearing for the future of the competition. Footy chief Chris Davies responds to those concerns.
PORT Adelaide’s domination of the SANFL in the past six weeks has many fearing for the future of the competition and calling for the Magpies to be scaled back. Jai Bednall sat down with SANFL footy chief Chris Davies to discuss the issues.
JAI BEDNALL: Are you ready to concede the strength of the Magpies is a problem?
CHRIS DAVIES: I think it’s too early for that now. We need to see more of the season before we make any judgments. Port Adelaide has been dominant at AFL level and that would suggest they would be pretty good at SANFL level. Right now they’re on top of our ladder by percentage. The Eagles have won the same number of games.
JB: Does it matter if they’re called the Magpies or Port Adelaide’s reserves?
CD: They are the Magpies. The Port Adelaide Football Club has gone to extreme lengths to maintain the passion of the Magpies in our competition. We think that’s a fantastic thing.
JB: Could the league look at ways to improve the rest of the clubs, rather than weaken Port?
CD: I’ve seen comments by coaches like Michael Godden and Seamus Maloney who have been talking about getting their teams up to that standard. I’d like to think over a period of time the SANFL clubs will get better at playing against Port Adelaide. But we need to see more of the season to decide whether they’re going to be too good.
JB: Could a salary cap increase help address the issue?
CD: I think right now we wouldn’t be looking at salary cap increases in the short-term. The financial position of the clubs has to be something we hold in the forefront of our mind. Right now I can’t see it being part of the agenda. There are other things clubs can do to make themselves more competitive.
JB: How does the Port Adelaide model change next year and what impact will this have?
CD: Port doesn’t have a zone next year and won’t have any teams from under-18s and below. Its junior players will be rezoned to other SANFL clubs, so each club will have an extra 1500 males aged 5-14 to choose from in their zones. We’d expect the SANFL clubs to become stronger because we’re going from nine talent zones to eight. Clubs will also have the opportunity to recruit from Port Adelaide. If a top-up player is seen to be a good SANFL player he can be recruited to another club.
JB: Do you have any concerns about the competitiveness of the bottom-placed Crows?
CD: The Crows have had some injuries and at times played more top up players than they thought they would have. But we haven’t heard anything from the Crows in regards to changing their model for next year. Clearly the regulations of both the Crows and Port are going to be continually reviewed. If the regulations make one team too strong or another not strong enough that’s something the SANFL need to address down the track.
JB: How are crowds tracking?
CD: Crowds are slightly up - about 40 more people per game. But given we’re in a time when AFL footy here is generating significantly more people and have two and a half times the people watching our games on TV, for crowds not to have dropped off is a good achievement. We hope to end the year level or above.
JB: Do you think there’s been a drop in the standard of play this season?
CD: No. I think our competition is widely considered as the best outside of the AFL. The number of players who have come into our competition this year who are formerly AFL listed or still looking at getting on an AFL list is testament to the work our clubs actually do.”
JB: How will you redistribute the zones?
CD: We’re currently in the middle of a boundaries review. The clubs will find out in the next fortnight to a month what their new zones are likely to be. We’ll ask for some feedback on that and then in June or July outline what the new boundaries will be.
JB: Overall, how would you rate the start to the season?
CD: Really positive. When you look at crowds being slightly up, two and a half times the audience watching the broadcast all while Adelaide Oval is going great guns from an AFL perspective, I think it’s great. I’m really positive and buoyant about the future of our competition.