- Oct 8, 2004
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The SANFL’s stand-alone clubs want Adelaide and Port Adelaide to focus on recruiting interstate talent – rather than plunder their backyards – as negotiations ramp up over improved concessions the AFL clubs will be granted to continue to field teams in the local league.
With the AFL putting a potential AFL reserves competition on hold indefinitely, the Crows and Port will again have their reserves sides play in the SANFL next season provided there is a rule tweak allowing them to access better top-up talent.
South Australia’s two AFL clubs have long threatened to pull their seconds teams out of the SANFL and play in either a national reserves competition or the VFL if they can’t improve their top-up lists, claiming the lack of supplementary talent is hindering the development of their young AFL players.
It is understood Adelaide and Port want greater access to promising SANFL talent, including under the SANFL Rookie Program, which this season netted Port former Norwood defender Logan Evans, who it later selected in the AFL mid-season rookie draft.
The Crows signed father-son prospect Tyler Welsh – the son of four-times Adelaide leading goalkicker Scott Welsh – from Woodville-West Torrens under the same program and are expected to take him in this year’s national draft.
A SANFL subcommittee working through the concessions that Port and the Crows will be offered to continue in the 10-club state league competition met with club chief executives on Monday afternoon.
Norwood chief executive James Fantasia, who spent many years in the AFL system as recruiting manager at Adelaide, general manager of football for the Western Bulldogs and football manager at Hawthorn, said the two AFL clubs should not be allowed to rob SANFL clubs of talented kids they had developed just to top up their sides.
He said the Crows and Port should instead recruit non AFL-listed players from interstate clubs, which would in turn bolster the standard of the SANFL. “My biggest concern is that if you are going to keep giving them concessions, don’t make rules which would allow them to have an easy pick off our list,’’ Fantasia said. “They should be encouraged to bring players into our competition and who might ultimately stay here, rather than draw on players from other SANFL clubs.’’
Examples include Port signing Jed Hagan from the WAFL last year and Adelaide recruiting former St Kilda and Collingwood-listed midfielder Nathan Freeman in 2022. The Crows also signed Tasmanian midfielder Oliver Davis to their SANFL squad in 2021 before he later joined South Adelaide.
It is understood that in early negotiations, SA’s two AFL clubs have asked to tap further into the SANFL Rookie Program in a bid to have more draftable SA talent at their disposal while also wanting access to two under-22 players and one over 23 player from local rivals. One rival SANFL CEO, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Crows and Port should be forced to pay transfer fees to secure other SANFL talent. A transfer system is in place among the eight stand-alone clubs.
The stand-alone clubs understand the SANFL’s desire to keep the state’s two AFL clubs’ reserves teams in the local competition but fear improved concessions, which will include fixture equality, will give them a massive leg up on their state league rivals.
With the AFL putting a potential AFL reserves competition on hold indefinitely, the Crows and Port will again have their reserves sides play in the SANFL next season provided there is a rule tweak allowing them to access better top-up talent.
South Australia’s two AFL clubs have long threatened to pull their seconds teams out of the SANFL and play in either a national reserves competition or the VFL if they can’t improve their top-up lists, claiming the lack of supplementary talent is hindering the development of their young AFL players.
It is understood Adelaide and Port want greater access to promising SANFL talent, including under the SANFL Rookie Program, which this season netted Port former Norwood defender Logan Evans, who it later selected in the AFL mid-season rookie draft.
The Crows signed father-son prospect Tyler Welsh – the son of four-times Adelaide leading goalkicker Scott Welsh – from Woodville-West Torrens under the same program and are expected to take him in this year’s national draft.
A SANFL subcommittee working through the concessions that Port and the Crows will be offered to continue in the 10-club state league competition met with club chief executives on Monday afternoon.
Norwood chief executive James Fantasia, who spent many years in the AFL system as recruiting manager at Adelaide, general manager of football for the Western Bulldogs and football manager at Hawthorn, said the two AFL clubs should not be allowed to rob SANFL clubs of talented kids they had developed just to top up their sides.
He said the Crows and Port should instead recruit non AFL-listed players from interstate clubs, which would in turn bolster the standard of the SANFL. “My biggest concern is that if you are going to keep giving them concessions, don’t make rules which would allow them to have an easy pick off our list,’’ Fantasia said. “They should be encouraged to bring players into our competition and who might ultimately stay here, rather than draw on players from other SANFL clubs.’’
Examples include Port signing Jed Hagan from the WAFL last year and Adelaide recruiting former St Kilda and Collingwood-listed midfielder Nathan Freeman in 2022. The Crows also signed Tasmanian midfielder Oliver Davis to their SANFL squad in 2021 before he later joined South Adelaide.
It is understood that in early negotiations, SA’s two AFL clubs have asked to tap further into the SANFL Rookie Program in a bid to have more draftable SA talent at their disposal while also wanting access to two under-22 players and one over 23 player from local rivals. One rival SANFL CEO, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Crows and Port should be forced to pay transfer fees to secure other SANFL talent. A transfer system is in place among the eight stand-alone clubs.
The stand-alone clubs understand the SANFL’s desire to keep the state’s two AFL clubs’ reserves teams in the local competition but fear improved concessions, which will include fixture equality, will give them a massive leg up on their state league rivals.
