The Southport Sharks decide coach for revamped VFL. Plus, new salary cap and how the club will build its list.
The Southport Sharks have decided on the man who will coach them in the revamped VFL. Plus, all the details of the new salary cap and how the club will build its list.
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SOUTHPORT are set to re-sign current senior men’s coach Stephen Daniel for a further two years as the club prepares for it’s potential move into the revamped VFL.
The Sharks have decided Daniel is the right man to lead the club as it prepares for a historic transition into the new second-tier league.
Daniel is expected to put pen to paper on the deal this week.
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The respected football figure first joined the club in 2018, taking it to a NEAFL premiership in his first season before featuring in a second grand final in 2019.
Current football manager Jarrod Field is expected to also remain in his position.
The club must now prepare an adjusted list to suit the new league and the conditions they will play in.
The NEAFL salary cap was set at $320,000 for 2020 before the season was cancelled and the cap for the new VFL competition is expected to be around $200,000.
Southport club officials don’t believe the reduced cap will deter any players from playing on in the second-tier competition and many have already expressed their desire to remain at the Sharks.
Southport have found success by building a list stacked with players with speed to burn while playing in the warm climate of Queensland, NSW and the Northern Territory on large ovals with space to move.
But with Victoria having smaller fields and often windy and wet conditions it will mean the Sharks consider bringing in bigger bodies to suit a more contested style of football.
E ARLIER:
THE next chapter in the Southport Sharks’ rich history is set to be written after the club officially lodged an expression of interest to join the VFL competition as of 2021.
Clubs were asked to lodge their interest in competing in the new competition by Friday as the new Victorian state league begins to take shape.
Following the cancellation of the NEAFL season earlier this year due to COVID-19 implications, the AFL announced in August the NEAFL would be absorbed into the Victorian league.
Southport officials were initially forced to weigh up whether they had the finances to field a VFL side as like many businesses they were hampered by hospitality restrictions but made the decision to proceed following a board meeting on Tuesday night.
But Southport football operations manager Jarrod Field said it was important for Queensland football to field a team at the highest level achievable.
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“It’s obviously going to be a tougher competition than the NEAFL was and a bigger competition but we’ve now taken the next step to play in the second-best competition in Australia behind the AFL,” Field said.
“It will be a huge challenge for us but we think we can acquit ourselves well and it’s very important for Queensland football pathways that there’s an opportunity to play in a second-tier competition.
“It’s been a big year of firsts for us this year with our inaugural women’s team getting off the ground so 2020 could be a historical year for Southport.
“The club has always striven to play at the highest level and the COVID-19 situation could have seen us fall back to QAFL but it’s better for Queensland football.”
Having lodged an expression of interest, the Sharks will now be required to prepare a formal submission by the end of September.
Southport will be made to demonstrate how they intend to meet the criteria to join the VFL with a final decision on which clubs are accepted into the league expected in early October.
Up to 20 teams could be set to join the VFL with several AFL stand-alone clubs like the Suns, AFL aligned clubs like the Box Hill Hawks and stand-alone clubs like Southport weighing up joining the second-tier league.
It’s believed northern and southern conferences are being considered as an option as the AFL aims to reduce costs for travel and accommodation.
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