SANFL 2022: The big ins, outs and why the fears over the South Australian state league appear unfounded
Veteran players have departed but, with new financial incentives and big-name signings, rumours of the SANFL’s demise have been exaggerated, writes Andrew Capel.
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Rumours of the SANFL’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
The paraphrasing of the famous Mark Twain quote is apt as key recruits sign to play in the South Australian State League competition next year.
After a host of veteran players departed the SANFL at the end of the season - either through retirement or to play in lower-ranked suburban or country leagues, partly due to the salary cap being slashed by almost half from two years ago because of the Covid-19 pandemic - there were fears that the standard and profile of the proud competition could slip significantly.
But those fears appear unfounded, with more than a dozen quality delisted AFL players already signing for SANFL clubs and more certain to put pen to paper before Christmas following the completion of the national and rookie drafts.
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Among those to already ink deals are Keegan Brooksby (from Hawthorn to South Adelaide), Hamish Hartlett (Port Adelaide to West Adelaide), Jordan Murdoch (Gold Coast to Glenelg), Corey Lyons (Brisbane to Glenelg), Connor Ballenden (Brisbane to Woodville-West Torrens), Jarrod Lienert (Port Adelaide to Sturt), Ryan Garthwaite (Richmond to South), Kaiden Brand (Sydney to West), Oscar Claravino (St Kilda to South), Oscar Brownless (Geelong to South), Jay Rantall (Collingwood to Norwood) and Cam Taheny and Ben Jarvis (Geelong to Norwood).
VFL players are following in the footsteps of 2021 joint Magarey Medallist James Tsitas and flocking to the SANFL, including Port Melbourne’s Chris Jansen, Central District’s 2017 club champion, who has joined the Redlegs, Sam Ramsay (Carlton to South), Billy McCormack (Frankston to Central), Cory Stockdale (Casey Demons to Norwood), Darren Walters (Williamstown to West), Williams Gowers (Aspley to North) and Sam Thorne and Reed van Huisstede (Sydney to North).
SANFL chief executive Darren Chandler said that while the salary cap will remain at $210,000 for 2022 after being $400,000 in 2019, new incentive payments would help to keep the league strong as well as the lure of players wanting to play in what is widely regarded as the best competition outside the AFL.
Aspiring AFL players - young and mature-age - also want to show their wares in the SANFL, knowing it is a strong pathway into the national competition.
“I think our competition remains in a really strong position,’’ Chandler said when asked if he was concerned that so many ‘name’ players had left the SANFL since the end of the season.
Among the exodus are dual Magarey Medallist Mitch Grigg and his former AFL-listed Norwood teammates Richard Douglas, Paul Puopolo, Brad McKenzie and Cam Shenton, dual South Magarey Medallist Joel Cross, Glenelg premiership trio Chris Curran, Marlon Motlop and Brad Agnew, triple Eagles premiership player Angus Poole and North Adelaide flag members Alex Barns, Mitch Clisby, Lewis Hender and Tom Schwarz.
“Players leave the competition every year, whether it is because of age and the need to pull up stumps, which happens to everyone at some point, the desire to play in a lesser competition or that they have other priorities, including work and family, and no longer want to make the commitment to the SANFL, which we respect,’’ Chandler said.
“But the quality of players who keep coming into the competition is enormous.
“Joint Magarey Medallist Bryce Gibbs, Riley Knight, Tyson Stengle, Sam Skinner, Lachie Hosie and Sam Durdin were among the players who came in and performed so well this year - Skinner and Stengle have since got themselves back onto AFL lists - and we’ve already had some good signings for next season.
“The key for the SANFL is for clubs to get the balance right between topping up their teams with quality recruits and continuing to promote and give opportunities to young players.
“In the past few years our premiership teams generally have had at least 75 per cent of their players being locals, which is important.
“This provides great opportunities for young players coming through, like Tom Lewis, who had a breakout season for Sturt, and mature-agers like (Sturt's) Charlie Parker, Jed McEntee and Ash Johnson, who were able to push through to the AFL this year.’’
Chandler, noting how SANFL clubs importantly help organise employment for their players, said the league hoped to be in a position to increase its salary cap in the next couple of years but had to hold firm while it rode the Covid storm.
The league has introduced some financial incentives next season aimed at keeping players in the competition and “to keep growing the game’’.
These include a $45,000 support scheme for each club, funded by the clubs and the league, along with player milestone incentives.
Under the proposals, the support scheme would provide money outside the salary cap to be used on coaching, travel costs to training and games for country-based players, health insurance and club and league marketing components.
The player milestone scheme, funded by the league and therefore also falling outside of the salary cap, would offer financial rewards for milestone games, including a one-off payment of $2500 for a player reaching 50 games, $5000 for 100 games and $10,000 for 150 and 200 games.
Panthers chief executive Neill Sharpe, whose club has been extremely active in the off-season recruiting stakes, said that while the Covid pandemic had been “very challenging’’ for everyone - SANFL players were on JobKeeper payments in 2020 - and it had taken its toll on some players, the league remained a “really strong, historical, relevant competition’’.
“The past two years have been tough, there's no doubt about that, and the commitment from the players under the circumstances has been outstanding,’’ Sharpe said.
“But there was probably always going to be a bit of a tipping point because of the commitment it takes to play in the SANFL, the three nights a week training and games on weekends.
“But it remains the best competition outside the AFL, a competition with real soul which continues to attract the best (non AFL-listed) players to it and there are no signs of that changing.’’
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