With SANFL finals in full swing, Nat von Bertouch asks whether games other than the grand final should be played in the suburbs?
When Adelaide Oval is packed, the atmosphere is incredible. But when there are only 11,000 there? Well … it feels like a ghost town, as Nat von Bertouch observes.
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There’s nothing quite like finals in the local footy. But is it time for a change to the rule that all SANFL finals will be played at the Adelaide Oval, leaving only the grand final to be played there?
There were two semi-finals held last Sunday — one in which Norwood were whacked by the Crows by 10 goals and another was a four-point thriller that saw Port Adelaide advance to the grand final over Glenelg — but the games could only draw a combined crowd of 11,406.
The lacklustre atmosphere that such a small crowd creates at a large stadium like Adelaide Oval begs the question: Would it be better if the qualifying final, semis and prelims are played back at the suburban home grounds?
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I think it would be.
If there are a touch over 10,000 spectators at Adelaide Oval it feels like a ghost town … but imagine that same crowd at a local ground? It would be electric.
The other advantage of games being played at the home grounds is that the games become fantastic revenue earners for the clubs and this in turn would then reward the clubs for their success throughout the minor rounds.
In an era where clubs are relying on money from the Adelaide and Port Adelaide football clubs to have a sustainable competition, it seems to me it’s a no-brainer. After all, the clubs need money to be sustainable.
Playing the finals on the suburban ovals returns the home-ground advantage to the league, for example Norwood and Glenelg have smaller grounds and if earned the right to host one or more home finals, then it would be an advantage to them over the lower ranked teams.
What I love most about SANFL footy is its community feel, the proud spectators and the kids looking on nearby who are so close to the action they can almost feel the hits.
Then at the short breaks we can all get out on the oval for a kick-and-a-catch and this is a fantastic opportunity for new spectators to be converted by the atmosphere.
The SANFL clubs are only allowed to train once at Adelaide Oval for the entire four-week final series with clubs having to nominate which week they will choose.
While all clubs have the same disadvantage in this, because the Oval is so different to many local grounds, surely this is a concern. I wonder whether this actually helps the clubs with larger home grounds, giving them an added advantage even if didn’t earn it.
All of that aside, the showcase of every season — each grand final — should definitely be played at the Oval, we’ve seen before that the big game will draw big numbers, just looks the 40,000-plus who attended last year’s “granny”.
But history shows that this is the only SANFL game that can draw such a crowd.
The 2018 grand final between North Adelaide and Norwood was a great spectacle, but that’s because there were enough supporters at Adelaide Oval to make it feel special.
I wonder, however: with this year’s grand final shaping up to the first SANFL “showdown” grand final, how many will that game draw?
Should the Crows beat Glenelg on Sunday, what will the tactics of the SANFL become? And will those tactics ensure that enough AFL fans get behind their reserves teams? Time will tell.