Portfolio SANFL based Alternate History

[El_Scorcho]

If I get time and maintain interest, this thread will be an alternate history national football league, where the expansion of the VFL in the 1980s failed, and the league went bust. The SANFL was able to capitalise on this failure to push their own claim at a elevating themselves to a national competition.

I'll be presenting guernseys for the teams that will compete in the hypothetical 2015 AFL season.

The SANFL is obviously a lot more self centred than the VFL/AFL as an organisation and as such, never rebranded themselves as a national competition. Every behind post in the country is painted red, and when teams are being listed, the forwards are up the top, and the defenders are at the bottom

The idea is basically to reimagine the current SANFL clubs as if they were fully professional clubs. Not having 1000 sponsors everywhere, and how I imagine they might have developed if the SANFL had become the national league. I'll also be adding some expansion clubs from outside the SANFL as I go along, both moved over from other leagues, and entirely new franchises.

In 2015, the SANFL has entered into a leaguewide partnership with Umbro to supply all teams kits and merchandise.

I'll start with an easy one, that doesn't really give anything away.

The Port Adelaide Football Club has continued as a powerhouse SANFL club. You'll notice no 1870 below the collar, because there has never been any identity crisis in this line of history. They wear their classic prison bar design when playing home games at a redeveloped Alberton Oval, capacity 42,000.

 

[Dylan8]

Nice collar! Have you tried what it would look like to have Renault (or maybe EA) across the front like the old guernseys with Standard Chartered or Seaton?

Spoiler

 

[Gibbsy]

Nice El_Scorcho . One thing I notice is that the 'bars' are all evenly spaced apart, unlike the one worn by Port against Richmond where the middle two bars have a wider space between them, almost creating two sets of three white stripes. Is that a design choice?

 

[El_Scorcho]

Nice collar! Have you tried what it would look like to have Renault (or maybe EA) across the front like the old guernseys with Standard Chartered or Seaton?

Spoiler

Briefly, but I imagine it would have been standardised across the league over 25 years, so I stuck with the AFL style sponsor positioning.

Nice El_Scorcho . One thing I notice is that the 'bars' are all evenly spaced apart, unlike the one worn by Port against Richmond where the middle two bars have a wider space between them, almost creating two sets of three white stripes. Is that a design choice?

Yes. I always figured the wider gap was the result of the lace ups, and wasn't necessary without them. Probably what tipped me over the edge with that decision was that the old woolen replicas didn't have the wider spacing. The woolen heritage replica that you can buy from the club shop today has consistent spacing across the front of the guernsey.

Next will obviously be the Port Adelaide Clash

 

[chibimatty]

You know, if the VFL went bust in your scenario, I was kinda hoping it would be a combined SANFL/WAFL national competition concept. Looking forward to the rest of this series however.

 

[Jones2ByrneJones]

Woodville and West Torrens will be separate clubs right?

 

[El_Scorcho]

Woodville and West Torrens will be separate clubs right?

I may even split them into 3 clubs!

 

[Jones2ByrneJones]

Wonder how you'll approach Woodville. Will they still be the Warriors? Reverted back to the 'peckers? Come up with something new and fresh like the Wowsers?

Now that's an identity crisis.

 

[SgtSchulz]

Wonder how you'll approach Woodville. Will they still be the Warriors? Reverted back to the 'peckers? Come up with something new and fresh like the Wowsers?

Now that's an identity crisis.

Always thought the Woodpeckers was a better name.

 

[Jack Stevens]

I'm looking forward to the Collingwood Force's half pink home jumper, and their heritage black and white jumper which they only wear every couple of years when evil lord Kochie allows it

 

[rabbitoh21]

very interested to see where this goes

 

[chibimatty]

I'm looking forward to the Collingwood Force's half pink home jumper, and their heritage black and white jumper which they only wear every couple of years when evil lord Kochie allows it

Collingwood Crows, Collingwood Power, Yarra United?!

 

[Greater Gattsby]

subbed

 

[4321]

heck yes, this will be awesome! and a great start aswell!

 

[4321]

I may even split them into 3 clubs!

How, Woodville and West Torrens?

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Have always wondered how something like this would go. Fiddling around with my own idea for a national competition with divisions, promotion/relegation which will include all the old VFL, SANFL and WAFL clubs, as well as a few others. Completely financially unviable, of course, but it's fun to think about.

Look forward to seeing the rest, good start

 

[El_Scorcho]

There would be a guernsey in this post, but instead i've spent the last hour or so mapping out how the league will look. There will be 18 teams in the 2015 SANFL.

To keep it interesting, i'll be alternating between original SANFL teams and expansion sides with each update.

 

[hitthepost]

If there are red behind posts (which, as a goal umpire, I hate! Hard to see if the ball is in or out off a snap near the post. But anyway.) I'm assuming the Umpires are still in white unless a team is wearing white. And then the Umpires still have white shorts.

 

[Jones2ByrneJones]

inb4 the Darwin Bombers

 

[Damo Crows Fan]

can't wait to see what you do with North!

 

[El_Scorcho]

All SANFL clubs were directed to adopt clash jumpers at the beginning of the 1999 season. Port Adelaide has maintained the prison bars as a design element on every clash strip it has released since 1999.

 

[DoctorPav29]

All SANFL clubs were directed to adopt clash jumpers at the beginning of the 1999 season. Port Adelaide has maintained the prison bars as a design element on every clash strip it has released since 1999.

If I was a Port supporter I would buy that.

 

[El_Scorcho]

In late 1986, WA football is set to enter the VFL in the form of the West Coast Eagles, but that entry is thrown into disarray when the struggling VFL is unable to continue funding the recently relocated Sydney Swans. The Swans fold, leaving the concept of a national VFL in doubt.

The SANFL is having some financial troubles of it's own, with the West Torrens Eagles struggling financially. The SANFL approach the WA consortium to consider taking over the licence of WTFC and operating their newly formed team in the SANFL. The WA consortium agree, on the condition that the SANFL continue to expand nationally, with more teams expected to be set up ready for the 1988 season.

In 1987, the West Torrens FC move west and are absorbed by the new entity, the West Coast Eagles, wearing royal and gold.

The West Coast Eagles had their guernseys in production ready for the 1987 VFL season, but changed the winged design from a gold base to a royal base as per the West Torrens sash design. That winged design remains their home guernsey in 2015. The West Torrens FC is acknowledged with WTFC below the collar on the rear of the guernsey.

In 1999, the West Coast Eagles introduced a clash guernsey as part of the leaguewide directive. The West Coast Eagles honoured their West Torrens forerunners by adopting a sash design with the colours reversed to avoid clashes.

 

[4321]

All SANFL clubs were directed to adopt clash jumpers at the beginning of the 1999 season. Port Adelaide has maintained the prison bars as a design element on every clash strip it has released since 1999.

Port board would hate that, irl, but a solid design none the less

 

[4321]

There would be a guernsey in this post, but instead i've spent the last hour or so mapping out how the league will look. There will be 18 teams in the 2015 SANFL.

To keep it interesting, i'll be alternating between original SANFL teams and expansion sides with each update.

At least tell me Glenelg is still their own team.