SANFL wants Port Adelaide, Crows back in the league for 2021 season but roadblocks await
Port Adelaide Magpies and Adelaide Crows look set to return to the SANFL competition next season with chief executive Jake Parkinson saying the league wants to continue with both clubs’ existing arrangement which runs out at the end of 2028.
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THE SANFL has reaffirmed its desire to have AFL clubs Adelaide and Port Adelaide rejoin its competition next year but acknowledges there are hurdles to overcome.
With the AFL on Monday announcing a new eastern seaboard state league competition next season, which will see the NEAFL join forces with the VFL, as the fallout from COVID-19 continues, the SANFL said it plans to have teams from the Crows and Port return to its league after a one-year hiatus.
“The involvement of Port Adelaide and Adelaide in the SANFL has been successful and we are looking for that to continue for at least the term of the existing arrangement, which is until the end of the 2028 season,’’ SANFL chief executive Jake Parkinson said.
The Crows and Port also say they want to field teams in the SANFL next season after being forced to withdraw this year following an AFL directive not to mix AFL and SANFL players because of the coronavirus pandemic.
This resulted in the league being reduced to eight clubs for the first time since 1963.
But there are stumbling blocks to overcome.
The AFL is considering cutting list sizes, which could impact Adelaide and Port’s ability to have enough players to field seconds teams, while the Crows are also due to pay the SANFL a $440,000 licence fee to play in its competition next season.
Given the financial whack clubs have copped in 2020, that might be out of Adelaide’s reach.
“Our preferred position is to continue to field a team in the SANFL as it has proved beneficial for our club, as well as the broader competition,’’ Crows head of football Adam Kelly said.
“In particular, we have seen significant upside in our player development since having a stand-alone side.
“However, the current football landscape presents some challenges, such as the size of AFL playing squads which hasn’t yet been determined, and the impact of COVID-19 has also created financial implications relating to participation in second tier competitions across the country.”
Parkinson said this would be taken into consideration.
‘’We will need to further understand impacts on their list sizes, once that has been decided by the AFL, while also understanding the impact on their SANFL clubs coming out of COVID-19 as we review the conditions of their participation in the league,’’ he said.
‘’We will hold further discussions with the clubs on those matters but we are committed to having Port Adelaide and Adelaide play in the SANFL.
‘’As a foundation club since 1877, Port’s rich history is integral to SANFL’s while the presence of AFL-listed players at both clubs continues to set the bar high in terms of the competition’s standard.’’
Port said it was “absolutely committed’’ to playing in the SANFL next season.
“Our position has not changed,’’ chief executive Keith Thomas said.
“Port Adelaide is a foundation club of the SANFL and we remain absolutely committed to playing in the SANFL competition again in 2021.”
But eastern seaboard second-tier football will look very different.
Under a new AFL model, the NEAFL has been dissolved with those sides invited to join the VFL in what has been described as “a year of transition’’.
The AFL clubs in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria will be able to either field a stand-alone team, align with an existing second-tier club or spread their AFL-listed players across multiple second-tier clubs.