SANFL CEO Jake Parkinson urges fans to show support for clubs by buying a membership
The SANFL’s chief executive is urging fans to become members to help their clubs survive, as part of a new series on advertiser.com.au called Support Our Clubs, aimed at helping getting sporting clubs back on their feet.
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Support Our Clubs
advertiser.com.au is proud to launch a new series called Support Our Clubs, which aims to support our sporting codes and clubs as they emerge from lockdown and to show how much they mean to our cities, towns, regions and communities.
With the return of sport at both elite and community level set to be determined by the national Cabinet next Friday, the series will run each day in The Advertiser, will ask key questions including what clubs will need to get back on their feet, what are the key challenges they face and what communities can do to support them in this, their hour of need.
Membership numbers across the SANFL have dropped 17 per cent from last season and league chief executive Jake Parkinson is urging fans to sign up as the likelihood of football resuming increases.
Mr Parkinson said some SANFL clubs were on a financial “knife edge’’ because the suspension of the season had caused revenue streams to dry up.
“The more members that are around the better the football club is,’’ he said.
“If there are supporters out there who have never been a member of their club and they can financially have the financial wherewithal to jump on board and be a member, now is the time,’’ he said.
Mr Parkinson said the SANFL was “committed” to making sure all eight SANFL clubs survived the COVID-19 crisis.
“There are a number of them which are on the knife edge,’’ he said. “Particularly as we don’t know when the revenue streams will come back.
“The SANFL will need to be in support of some clubs which will also have a large impact on our organisation,’’ he said.
Mr Parkinson said the SANFL would need to take on more debt to ensure some clubs survived, even though its own revenue streams had collapsed because there was no AFL football being played at Adelaide Oval.
He said it was not yet possible to predict when football could return but he was increasingly confident it would.
Mr Parkinson said the financial costs of restarting would have to be understood, especially if fans were not allowed to attend.
He said if there was no match day revenue then costs would need to be stripped out and that could include players not being paid, as well as other staff including assistant coaches and umpires.
“All those costs of putting on a match would need to be waived by the people who receive it,’’ he said.
The SANFL has submitted a proposal to SA Health asking advice on whether it would be safe to hold multiple games over a weekend at Adelaide Oval.
“We have put a proposal that quite possibly, if there were no AFL games at Adelaide Oval, could we play all of our round of SANFL footy at Adelaide Oval back-to-back across Saturday and Sunday,’’ he said.
“It means we have a more controlled environment to ensure the health and safety of everybody.’’
Mr Parkinson said the plan was dependant on how the AFL structured the rest of its season and the Oval not being needed by Port Adelaide or Adelaide. If Adelaide Oval was ruled out because of AFL commitments, Mr Parkinson said the SANFL could base its games at a club ground.
The SANFL will make a decision on the season by the end of the month, but Mr Parkinson said the shut down had shown how important the game was to people.
“I think it has shown what is at the core of footy and I think that has been a good thing.’’
RETURN WILL MEAN SO MUCH FOR COMMUNITY HOPEFUL
Elizabeth Oval has been a playground for Paul Thomas for much of his 38 years.
Born a week before his dad Jamie made his league debut for Central District, Paul, pictured, was running around the grandstand, playing on the mound surrounding the oval and sneaking on to the ground as soon as he could walk
All he wanted to do growing up was wear the red, white and blue jumper of the Bulldogs. In 2001, his dream of following in Jamie’s footsteps became reality when he played the first of 269 league games for the club. Even when rookie-listed at Adelaide in 2002, he still turned up to Elizabeth Oval for recovery and training. And while an assistant coach with the Crows for four years, he was still a regular at the home of the Bulldogs.
His sister Aisha plays with the women’s side, brother Beau is with the club’s under age squads and Beau’s twin sister Abbey, a member of the Crows next generation academy, is also at the club.
Apart from 2005 when playing for Essendon in the AFL, the Bulldogs premiership captain’s home has been within a few kilometres of the oval.
Thomas became a victim of the crisis when released from his development coaching role at the Crows. But he believes having football resume is important for giving people a sense of identity and feeling part of something special.
“The SANFL is still a competition where you have got to earn your stripes,” he said.
“We understand why there is no footy, but we are looking forward to it coming back.”
-Warren Partland
PROUD TO BE PART OF THE TIGERS’ FAMILY STALWARTS
Bob Brinkworth is missing his Friday nights at the Glenelg Football Club.
Numbers have dwindled over the years, but he was meeting up with a group of friends for their Friday night ritual of a drink and chat at the club, before the COVID-19 crisis ruined their plans.
The one-time one-eyed Sturt supporter switched allegiances when sons Peter and John became involved with the Tigers in the early 1980s, and he became heavily involved in the club.
He was league team manager when Mark Williams coached the Tigers, had a stint as team manager for the state under-17 side for the Teal Cup and in the glory years of 1985 and 1986, when Glenelg went back-to-back, was on the management committee.
“The club was in the doldrums soon after winning those flags and the supporters who stuck with them got their just rewards last year with the premiership,” the Tigers life member said. “It was so good to get that premiership after so long, we’ve had so many coaches at Glenelg since (Graham) Cornesy left. Last year’s grand final win was so good for the area.”
Brinkworth also had the satisfaction of watching grandson Max Proud have a significant impact for the Tigers as they snapped the title drought.
Proud battled injuries for years and contemplated giving the game away. It has taken the defender 10 years to play 98 league games and establish himself as arguably the best fullback in the state league.
“The Glenelg Football Club is like a second home to me and the flag meant everything,” said Proud, named captain this year. “We are itching to get back out there.”
-Warren Partland.
