South Australian National Football League

The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL (/ˈsænfəl/ or S-A-N-F-L),[1] is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia.

SANFL
Current season, competition or edition:
2021 SANFL season
FormerlySouth Australian Football Association
(1877–1906)
South Australian Football League
(1907–1927)
SportAustralian rules football
Founded30 April 1877
Inaugural season1877
CEODarren Chandler
No. of teams10
CountryAustralia
Most recent
champion(s)		Woodville-West Torrens
(4th premiership)
Most titlesPort Adelaide
(36 premierships)
TV partner(s)Seven Network
Sponsor(s)Statewide Super
Official websitewww.sanfl.com.au

Originally formed as the South Australian Football Association on 30 April 1877, the SANFL is the oldest surviving football league of any code in Australia and one of the oldest football competitions in the world, forming just a few years after the United Hospitals Challenge Cup (1874), the oldest rugby football competition, and over a decade before The Football League, although later than the FA Cup (soccer).

Consisting of a single division competition, since the admission of the Adelaide Crows AFL Reserves in 2014 the season has been a 10 team 18-round "home-and-away" (regular) season from April to September. The top five teams play-off in a final series culminating in the grand final for the Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy. The grand final had traditionally been held at Football Park in October, generally the week after the AFL Grand Final, though this was altered ahead of the 2014 season resulting in Adelaide Oval hosting the grand final in the penultimate weekend of September.

The league owned the sub-licences for South Australia's two AFL clubs – Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club until March 2014, when South Australian Football Commission reached an agreement with the Adelaide and Port Adelaide football clubs – endorsed by the AFL – which will see the two AFL licences transferred to the clubs in return for payments totalling more than $18 million.[2]

The league is also responsible for the management of all levels of football in the state. This includes junior football, country football, amateur football and specific programs rolled out across schools, indigenous communities (including the APY Lands in the state's north) and newly arrived migrant communities.

The SANFL owns Football Park, formerly the largest stadium in South Australia. The stadium, which opened in 1974, was primarily used for Australian Football League matches up until 2013 and had a capacity of over 51,000 prior to being demolished. The stadium was the headquarters for the league from 1974 to 2013. The SANFL competition is the second highest attended Australian rules football league behind the AFL.

History

Before 1877
Further information: Australian rules football in South Australia
The original Adelaide F.C., formed in 1860, was the first in South Australia
Port Adelaide played its early games at Glanville Hall Estate from 1870 to 1879

The first recorded game of any "football" in South Australia was that of 'Caid' played in Thebarton by people of the local Irish community in 1843 to celebrate St Patrick's Day. In 1844 there was debate amongst the South Australian Legislative Council whether it be allowed that "foot-ball" be played on Sundays, with arguments against preferring the quiet worship of God.[3] In 1859 the Gawler Institute ran a rural fete which included a game of football being staged.[4]

The earliest recorded Australian rules football club in South Australia was Adelaide Football Club (unrelated to the modern day Adelaide Crows), formed in 1860.[5] The early years of football were poorly organised and dogged by argument over which set of rules to adopt. In fact, after a match between Port Adelaide and Kensington in 1873, it was remarked that neither side understood the rules clearly.[6] However, as the years progressed, there became a growing push for uniformity and structure in South Australian football.[7]

1877–1900: League establishment

In 1877, following an initial meeting called by Richard Twopeny on Thursday 19 April 1877 at Prince Alfred Hotel [8] delegates from 13 of South Australia's football clubs met to develop a uniform set of rules and establish a governing body. The South Australian Football Association was formed at a meeting called at the Prince Alfred Hotel in King William Street, Adelaide[9] on 30 April 1877,[10] the first governing body of its type for football in Australia, and adopted rules similar to those used in Victoria upon the urging of Charles Cameron Kingston. The use of an oval ball, bouncing the ball and pushing from behind forbidden amongst the rules agreed.

The clubs that sent 2 delegates each to the meeting were: South Park, Willunga, Port Adelaide, Adelaide, North Adelaide, Prince Alfred College, Gawler, Kapunda, Bankers, Woodville, South Adelaide, Kensington, and Victorian.[11]

The inaugural 1877 SAFA season was contested by 8 clubs. A number of games were played by Adelaide and Woodville against Gawler and Kapunda but these weren't counted in the premiership table at the end of the season. South Adelaide and Victorian were declared joint Club Champions.[12]

Founding clubs for Inaugural 1877 Season
Adelaide Bankers Kensington Port Adelaide South Adelaide South Park Victorian Woodville

In 1878, a brand new club Norwood was formed by a number of former Woodville players and it joined the Association for the season.[13] An end of season match on 31 August between a combined Adelaide Team from the Association against a combined team from the 3 country clubs - Gawler, Kapunda and Willunga was played on the Adelaide Ground. With the Adelaide team winning 5 goals to 1.[14]

Bankers (1877), Woodville (1877), Kensington (1881 after merging with Adelaide), South Park (1884), Victorian (1884), Hotham (renamed North Adelaide for 1888), Gawler (joined 1887 - left 1890), Kapunda and Willunga had all left the SA Football Association competition within the first 15 years.

In 1893, Medindie Football Club which joined in 1888 renamed to North Adelaide Football Club.[15]

By 1894 Season with the demise of the Old Adelaide Football Club (which was founded in 1860 and Premiers for the 1886 SAFA season) at the end of the 1893 Season, the Association had been reduced to just four clubs Port Adelaide, South Adelaide, Norwood and North Adelaide (originally called Medindie).

In 1895, a team called Port Natives was formed by a group of periphery Port Adelaide players who wanted more playing time.

In 1896, North Adelaide and the Natives were permitted to field 23 players (3 extra players).[16]

In 1897 saw a number of changes, District football was introduced optionally in 1897 with the aim of zoning players to a SAFA club (and became compulsory in 1899). The Association approved the application of the current West Adelaide Football Club to join the SAFA from the Suburban Association and The Native Football Club (1895-1896) altered its name to West Torrens Football Club.,[17][18] which meant the Association comprised six clubs until the turn of the century. The 1897 SAFA season was the first season of football in South Australia where behinds contributed to the total score, not just goals. The 3 newer clubs continued to struggle against the older 3 clubs. In the 1st Round both West Adelaide (vs Norwood) and West Torrens (vs Port Adelaide) failed to score for the whole game. There was also a number of walkovers throughout the season when the newer clubs failed to field a team.

In 1898, the Magarey Medal was awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player for the first time.

In 1899, after a period of declining public interest in football due to the long term inequality between the 3 traditional clubs (Port Adelaide, South Adelaide and Norwood) and the 3 younger clubs (West Adelaide, West Torrens and North Adelaide), the SAFA introduced electorate football, meaning that players were allocated to clubs based on the district in which they resided.[19] and the playing teams were reduced from 20 to 18.[20]

Norwood (11), South Adelaide (8) and Port Adelaide (3) together won 22 of the first 23 premierships.

In 1900, North Adelaide won the Grand Final against South Adelaide breaking the dominance of the 3 old traditional Clubs - Norwood (11), South Adelaide (8) and Port Adelaide (3) which together had won 22 of the first 23 premierships (1877-1899).

  • South Adelaide was a strong club in early years winning 8 premierships in the 19th century (1885 South Adelaide team pictured).
  • The Norwood Football Club won six premierships in a row from its establishment in 1878 to 1883 (1878 Norwood team pictured).
  • Alfred Waldron was an early star.
  • Alby Green won the competition's first Magarey Medal in 1898.

1901–1915: Pre war years

Sturt joined the Association in 1901, but performed poorly initially, finishing last in its first three seasons. In 1902, Port Adelaide adopted its now famous black and white colours. In 1907, the Association changed its name to the South Australian Football League.

Norwood and Port Adelaide continued their domination of the league, and were joined by West Adelaide and North Adelaide; between them, the four clubs won all premierships between 1901 and 1913. West Adelaide followed three straight wooden spoons from 1904 to 1906 with four out of the five premierships from 1908 to 1912, the most successful period in West Adelaide's history.

The SANFL maintained competition for the first two years of World War I, 1914 and 1915, with Sturt winning their first premiership in 1915, but from 1916 the competition was suspended and did not resume until 1919.

1916–1945: Inter war years

Sturt won the first premiership of the post-World War I era, beating North Adelaide in the Challenge Final replay after a Draw occurred in the 1919 SAFL Grand Final. Glenelg became the newest addition to the league in 1921 and started poorly with five consecutive wooden spoons. In 1927, the South Australian Football League was renamed the South Australian National Football League. Port Adelaide won five premierships in the period 1919–1939, appearing in 12 grand finals.

The SANFL continued normal competition for the first few years of World War II, but from 1942 to 1944 operated on a reduced basis with clubs merged on a geographical basis – Port Adelaide / West Torrens, West Adelaide / Glenelg, Sturt / South Adelaide and Norwood / North Adelaide.

1946–1969: Port Adelaide and Sturt rivalry

Straight after the War Sturt won their Second Premiership. The next three years were dominated by Norwood. Port Adelaide, led by Fos Williams, dominated the 1950s winning seven premierships, including a record setting six Grand Final wins in a row from 1954 to 1959. This record also matched Norwood's six in a row in 1883, set before the advent of regular Grand Finals.

Port Adelaide continued their dominance of the competition in the early 1960s with three more premierships by 1965. In 1964 the SANFL admitted two new clubs, Central District and Woodville. Both clubs performed poorly, and many questioned the purpose of introducing two more teams, in particular Woodville, who were closely surrounded by existing clubs, Port Adelaide and West Torrens. A resurgent Sturt under coach Jack Oatey won five straight premierships from 1966 to 1970, sharing a fierce rivalry with Port Adelaide whom they met in four consecutive Grand Finals (1965-1968).

1970–1979: Golden Era
Barrie Robran helped North become 1972 Champions of Australia

Sturt began the 1970s by defeating Glenelg in a rain-affected Grand Final by 21 points. North Adelaide secured back-to-back premiership victories over Port Adelaide in 1971 and 1972 and defeated VFL premier Carlton by one point in the end-of-season Championship of Australia match. Port Adelaide continued their success, winning two premierships themselves (1977, 1979), and finishing lower than 3rd only once for the decade. Other premiership winning clubs in the 1970s were Sturt (1970, 1974, 1976), Glenelg (1973), and Norwood (1975, 1978). On 4 May 1974, Central District and North Adelaide played the first game at newly opened Football Park at West Lakes. SANFL moved its administration to the new stadium, and 58,042 attended the first Grand Final at the ground later that year, with Sturt defeating Glenelg by 15 points despite kicking into a stiff breeze in the last quarter after leading by 5 points at three-quarter time. The 1975 season was highlighted by Glenelg's score of 49.23 (317) against Central District, with a winning margin of 238 points which was larger, at that time, than the previous highest score ever recorded by a side in a single game. In 1976, Sturt defeated Grand Final favourites Port Adelaide by 41 points in front of a record ticketed Football Park crowd of 66,897. Norwood won the 1978 premiership in their centenary year by beating Sturt in the Grand Final by one point after Sturt had lost just one game for the entire season. During the 1970s, an increasing number of SANFL players moved to Victoria to play in the VFL competition.

1980–1989: VFL leaves ANFC and expands whilst SANFL struggles

Port Adelaide, Norwood and Glenelg dominated the SANFL in the 1980s, accounting for eight premierships. The exodus of quality players to the VFL continued in the 1980s. In 1981 the VFL rejected a SANFL bid to enter a composite South Australian team to its competition. The SANFL introduced a player retention scheme in 1988 in an attempt to maintain the quality of the competition in the face of falling attendances. Night football was introduced in 1984 after floodlights were installed at Football Park.

1990–1999: Adelaide and Port Adelaide AFL entry
Graham Cornes was Glenelg coach in 1990 and became Adelaide's first coach in the AFL the following year

On 31 July 1990, Port Adelaide surprised the SANFL by making an independent bid to join the AFL. The SANFL was left with little option but to submit its own bid to enter the AFL. In a thirty-minute meeting the SANFL formed the Adelaide Football Club. While Port Adelaide had by far the largest supporter base in South Australia, it could not compete with the SANFL's offer of a composite club and the use of Football Park, and in November 1990, following a legal battle, the AFL announced the Adelaide Football Club had been granted a licence and would enter the competition in 1991.

The Adelaide Crows debuted in 1991 wearing the state colours of navy blue, red and yellow. While the Adelaide Crows enjoyed crowds of over 40,000 every week and dominated local media coverage, crowds at local SANFL matches suffered substantially.

In 1994 after a tender process put to all the SANFL clubs, the Port Adelaide Football Club secured a licence to enter the AFL. Port Adelaide chose the nickname of 'Power' since 'Magpies' was already used by Collingwood. Port Adelaide wished to maintain its presence (as the Magpies) in the SANFL, which was agreed to on the basis that Port Adelaide's SANFL and AFL entities operate independently. The club in the SANFL was renamed "Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club" to reflect this separation.

Port Adelaide dominated the SANFL in this time, contesting 10 Grand Finals in 12 years between 1988 and 1999 - winning 9 premierships 1988–1990,1992,1994-1996,1998-1999) and losing just the one Grand Final in 1997 to Norwood (their 27th Flag). The Woodville and West Torrens Clubs merged at the end of the 1990 Season and won their first premiership in 1993 against Norwood. Between 1900 and 1999 Port Adelaide contested a total of 59 Grand Finals - Winning the Flag 33 times to bring their total to 36.

2000–2010: Central District domination
Central District's won nine Grand Finals at Football Park between 2000 and 2010

There was a changing of the guard as the new century started. For more than 100 years one of Port Adelaide, Norwood, North Adelaide or Sturt appeared in every Grand Final. The year 2000 saw the two newest teams Central District and Woodville-West Torrens played off in the Grand Final. Central District appeared in 12 Consecutive Grand Finals from 2000 to 2011, collecting nine premierships (2000-2001, 2003–2005, 2007–2010). Only Sturt (2002) and Woodville-West Torrens (2006 & 2011) interrupted Centrals' run during this period. Centrals played in 28 Finals games between 2000 and 2011 for a total of 25 wins (which included 12 consecutive 2nd Semi Final wins) and just 3 losses (2002,2006,2011 Grand Finals).

Under-age divisions were restructured, with under 17 and under 19 competitions dissolved in favour of under 16 and under 18 leagues, the latter coming into line with Victoria's TAC Cup competition and under the sponsorship of McDonald's would be known as the Macca's Cup. The former would become the Macca's Shield, the season length is around half that of the other levels of competition. Night games would become a feature at Elizabeth Oval, with Central District hosting Saturday night matches from 2006.

2011–2019: AFL clubs gain independence and the league returns to Adelaide Oval

Central District finished minors again in the 2011 SANFL season and defeated Norwood in the Second Semi Final for their 12th Consecutive Grand Final appearance but suffered a narrow 3 point loss to Woodville-West Torrens which brought an end to their dominance in the Grand Finals. The 2012 SANFL season saw Centrals exit the finals for the first time since 2000 without contesting in the Grand Final, this time in straight sets after defeats by West Adelaide and then North Adelaide.

The 2012 and 2013 premierships were both won by Norwood, firstly defeating West Adelaide by 49 points to win their 28th flag and then subsequently defeating North Adelaide by 40 points for their 29th flag. This was the first time Norwood had won back to back flags for 90 years, when coincidentally they also beat West Adelaide (1922) and North Adelaide (1923).

The 2014 SANFL Grand Final was the first time since 1973 that a premiership was decided at Adelaide Oval

With Norwood and Elizabeth's night match experiment largely successful and popular, West Adelaide (2010), South Adelaide (2011) and Glenelg (2012) would follow suit by installing their own lighting systems at their respective grounds while Woodville-West Torrens had hoped to play under lights at Thebarton Oval, which to date have only done so once in 2012 during their premiership defence.

In 2011, AFL-based Port Adelaide and SANFL-based Port Adelaide Magpies merged to address losses at both clubs, however in 2013 the club announced that the Magpies would officially become the reserves team for Port's AFL players, joining the Adelaide Football Club in fielding a reserves team in the SANFL in time for the 2014 season. These moves caused some furore in some fan circles. The 2013 Grand Final was the last SANFL match at AAMI Stadium, with SANFL league headquarters to remain at AAMI but the finals to return to the new and improved Adelaide Oval from 2014. Ahead of the 2014 season, the AFL-based Adelaide Football Club were granted a licence to field a reserve team in the competition, increasing the number of teams in the league to 10.

As a result of the Magpies becoming the Power's reserve team, and the inclusion of the Crows reserves team in the SANFL in 2014, the other SANFL clubs will lose their AFL contracted players as those contracted to the Crows or Power will move to play exclusively for those clubs in either league. Norwood defeated arch-rivals Port Adelaide Magpies by 4 points in the 2014 Grand Final to secure their 30th Flag and 3rd in a row (2012-2014) for the first time since 1887–89.

Norwood's dominance of the competition would end in the 2015 season, eliminated at the first week of the finals as West Adelaide ended a 32-year premiership drought with their five-goal defeat of Woodville-West Torrens in the Grand Final.

The 2016 and 2017 premierships were both won by Sturt their 14th and 15th Flags and first since 2002.

The 2018 premiership was won by North their 14th Flag and first since 1991. North Adelaide were fined $10,000 and docked four premiership points for next season but allowed to play in the Grand Final against Norwood after a controversial 5 point win in the Preliminary Final against Woodville-West Torrens when they had 19 players on the field during the early stages of the fourth quarter.

The 2019 premiership was won by Glenelg their 5th Flag and first since 1986 ending a 33-year premiership drought. This meant within the last 10 seasons 7 different clubs had won a premiership. Only the two original clubs of the competition South Adelaide (last flag in 1964) and Port Adelaide (last flag in 1999) had not won a premiership flag in at least the last 20 years (excluding the Adelaide Crows reserves team).

2020

The 2020 season was originally scheduled to run from April until September; however its commencement was delayed to June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of clubs participating in the season was reduced to eight, as Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Magpies AFL Reserves were barred from fielding their reserves teams by the Australian Football League.[21] This is the first time in its history that Port Adelaide hadn't competed in the SANFL. The season was conducted with 14 rounds and a Final Four. Woodville-West Torrens defeated North Adelaide in the Grand Final.

SANFL Clubs
ClubNickname Home ground EstablishedFirst seasonPremiershipsLast Flag 2020 Head coach 2021
Adelaide (R)Crows None 199020140N/A N/A Vacant
Central DistrictBulldogs Elizabeth Oval 1959196492010 7 Paul Thomas
GlenelgTigers Glenelg Oval 1920192152019 4 Mark Stone
North AdelaideRoosters Prospect Oval 18881888142018 2 Jacob Surjan
NorwoodRedlegs Norwood Oval 18781878302014 5 Jade Rawlings
Port Adelaide (R)Magpies Alberton Oval 18701877361999 N/A Matthew Lokan
South AdelaidePanthers Noarlunga Oval 18761877111964 3 Jarrad Wright
SturtDouble Blues Unley Oval 19011901152017 6 Marty Mattner
West AdelaideBloods Richmond Oval 1892189792015 8 Gavin Colville
Woodville-West TorrensEagles Woodville Oval 1991199142020 1 Sam Lonergan
  • (R) - Reserves team for AFL seniors team

*Home grounds are shown using their non-commercial names (note that the Adelaide Football Club, despite being based at Football Park, do not play any home games in the home and away season, except for one Showdown match in a regional South Australian town).

Uniforms
Adelaide
Central District
Glenelg
North Adelaide
Norwood
Port Adelaide
South Adelaide
Sturt
West Adelaide
WWT Eagles

Up to the end of the 2013 season, when not playing with the two Adelaide-based AFL clubs, Port Adelaide Power or the Adelaide Crows, AFL-listed players would play for the SANFL clubs from which they were recruited. Those recruited to these AFL clubs who had not previously played for an SANFL club were allocated to a club by means of a "mini-draft", or played as a "guest player" if they were not playing for their Adelaide based AFL club, and their SANFL club had a bye. AFL club listed players were required to play a minimum of five SANFL games for their club through the season to be eligible to play in the SANFL finals. This rule had been in effect since the Crows first entered the AFL in 1991.

Since the 2014 season, Adelaide and Port Adelaide have been able to field dedicated reserves teams in the senior SANFL competition, with Port Adelaide able to retain their SANFL and AFL history as the one entity. Both Port Adelaide and Adelaide are required to maintain separate SANFL playing lists (the regulations for which are at the discretion of the SANFL) to complement their AFL playing lists. These reforms resulted in the abolition of Port's involvmenet in the under-age divisions and the eventual removal of the club's "Academy" team (of 18 to 22 year old players) from competition in the reserves division. The Crows have never fielded teams in any of these divisions.

Former clubs
Club Nickname Colours Home ground Established Dissolved/Left Number of Seasons First Season Premierships
Old Adelaide
Red and Black		 Adelaide Oval 1860 1893 18771 (1886)
Bankers 1877 1877 1 18770
Gawler Albions (1887) / Tigers Gawler Oval 1868 1890 4 18870
Hotham (1887)
North Adelaide (1888)		 Red and White Kensington Oval
Adelaide Oval		 1881 1887 2 1887 0
Kapunda * Bombers Dutton Park 1866 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Kensington ***   Kensington Oval 1871 1881 18770
Port Natives (1895/96) ** Blue and Gold Kensington Oval
1896 (8 games)		 1895 1896 2 18950
Royal Park 1880 1882 1
(5 games only)		 1882 0
South Park  
Light Blue
and White		 South Park Lands 1877 1884 8 18770
Victorian
North Adelaide (1884)		Tigers (1879)
Bumblebees
Orange
and Black		 Montefiore Oval 1877 1884 8 18771
(1877 Joint)
West Adelaide (1887)
Originally
West Torrens		 Butchers Red, White
and Blue		 Played at Kensington Oval 1878 1887 1 1887 0
West Torrens ** Eagles Thebarton Oval 1897 1990 88 1897 4
1924, 1933, 1945, 1953
Willunga *Demons   1874 1886 n/a n/a0
Woodville
(1868–1877)
Originally
Port Suburban		  
Dark Blue		 1868 1877 1 1877 0
Woodville **
(1938–1990)		Woodpeckers / Warriors Woodville Oval 1938 1990 27 19640
*Indicates that the club was an affiliate member who played games against SAFA clubs in 1877 but did not contest the premiership.
** West Torrens (originally Port Natives 1895–1896) and Woodville merged to form the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles for the 1991 Season
No competition 1916-1918 (WW1) and merged with Port Adelaide 1942-1944 (WW2)
*** Kensington Football Club merged with Adelaide for the 1881 Season but resigned from SAFA on 1 June 1881 (after 4 games into the season)
  • (O) - Original team

Venues

Games are generally hosted at suburban grounds throughout Adelaide.

Adelaide
Norwood
Adelaide Oval Norwood Oval
Capacity: 53,583 Capacity: 22,000
Prospect Elizabeth
Prospect Oval Elizabeth Oval
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 18,000
Alberton Richmond
Alberton Oval Richmond Oval
Capacity: 17,000 Capacity: 16,500
Unley Woodville South
Unley Oval Woodville Oval
Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 15,000
Glenelg Noarlunga Downs
Glenelg Oval Hickinbotham Oval
Capacity: 15,000 12,000

Former venues

League administration

The league's revenue is derived from its paid attendance, media and payments from both the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide AFL clubs for use of Adelaide Oval.

The SANFL is classed as a semi-professional competition. In 2008 the league had a salary cap of $400,000 (excluding service payments).[22] This is the second highest in Australia for an Australian rules football competition, after the AFL.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SANFL is Jake Parkinson, who replaced Leigh Wicker in the role in 2014.[23]

SANFL Ladder

South Australian leagues (including the SANFL) award two points for a win, and one for a draw. Elsewhere in Australia generally four points are awarded for a win and two for a draw. In addition, percentage is calculated as "For" ÷ "For and Against" × "100". Elsewhere in Australia it is generally calculated as "For" ÷ "Against" × "100".

Audience

The SANFL match-day program is called the Football Budget and is sold at all SANFL matches. A special edition is produced for the grand final.

The SANFL competition's "match of the round" was broadcast weekly in South Australia on ABC Southern (ABC1 South Australia). Until early 2008, it was also broadcast nationally on ABC2 television. In 2012, nationwide SANFL match replays resumed on ABC2. Match replays are also available nationally on ABC iView. In 2007, the SANFL measured a record 1,415,000 total television viewers.[24]

The SANFL competition is covered by local radio stations Life FM (live) and 5RPH (live). ABC Local Radio and 5AA broadcast the SANFL Finals Series.

In 2013, the SANFL signed a three-year deal with the Seven Network to broadcast weekly matches on 7mate from the start of the 2014 season.[25] Popular Mix102.3 radio host and Seven News Adelaide sports presenter Mark Soderstrom, former Port Adelaide Magpies captain and 5AA breakfast show personality Tim Ginevar, and former Fox Sports commentator John Casey (who spent time with Seven Adelaide during the 1980s and 1990s) will be the chief callers for the 2014 SANFL season. This marks the leagues return to commercial television for the first time since Channel 9 broadcast the SANFL in 1992.

Attendance

Although SANFL crowds now competes heavily with the two AFL national league clubs, the SANFL still has the second highest attendance of any Australian rules football league and the highest attendance for any regional league of any football code. It continues to publish attendance figures.

The record attendance for an SANFL fixture was set at the 1976 SANFL Grand Final between Sturt and Port Adelaide at Football Park which saw 66,987 crammed into the stadium, though some estimate the crowd to have been as high as 80,000 with thousands turned away at the gates.[26] The largest attendance for a minor round fixture was set in Round 19, 1988 for a double header at Football Park. 38,213 fans saw Sturt play Port Adelaide in the early game while reigning premiers North Adelaide faced ladder leaders Central District in the late game.[27] The record suburban ground attendance was an estimated 24,000 who saw Sturt and Norwood at Unley Oval on 9 June 1924.[28] A verified attendance of 22,738 saw Port play Norwood at Alberton in Round 11, 1977*.

* South Adelaide played Port Adelaide in front of 30,618 at the Adelaide Oval in Round 2, 1965. At the time the Adelaide Oval doubled as both league headquarters and South Adelaide's home ground. South Adelaide would move to Hickinbotham Oval in 1995. The Unley Oval record is for current SANFL team home grounds, though the figure was only an estimated amount. Unley Oval's confirmed record attendance of 22,015 was set in Round 9, 1968 for Sturt vs Port Adelaide.

The following are attendance figures since 1991.

Year
Home &
Away
Finals
Games
Played
Total
Average
Grand Final
Notes
2018 40,355
2017 39,813
2016 208,081 71,618 96 279,699 2,914 30,213
2015 188,562 50,121 96 238,683 2,486 25,625
2014253,20172,30196325,5023,391 38,644[29]
2013236,16357,02096293,1833,054 36,685[30]
2012259,24252,30996311,5513,245 29,661[31]
2011291,20952,38796343,5963,579 25,234[32]
2010276,58367,30896343,8913,582 34,355[33]
2009263,12568,23096331,3553,452 35,647[34]
2008275,84286,36796362,2093,773 34,128[35]
2007258,30864,52796322,8353,165 30,493[36]
2006255,44654,40696309,8523,228 25,130[37]
2005259,33144,02396303,3542,974 28,637[38]
2004253,59759,20096312,7973,258 24,207[39]
2003260,13753,07894313,2153,332 28,199
2002279,11372,94696352,0593,667 35,187
2001 272,041 72,895 96 344,909 3,593 26,378
2000 266,910 82,178 96 349,088 3,636 34,819
1999 86,082 96 39,135
1998 93,910 96 44,838
1997 96 44,161
Port Adelaide enters AFL
1996 96 46,210
1995 105 45,786
1994 105 487,624 4,644 40,598
1993 96 446,799 4,654 42,719
1992 105 515,299 4,908 42,242
1991 105 560,114 5,334 39,276
Adelaide Crows formed
1990 105 807,182 7,615 50,589

Awards
See also: List of SANFL Premiers

Club

The Grand Final winners each season are presented the Thomas Seymour Hill Premiership Trophy, named after administrator Thomas Seymour Hill.

The Stanley H. Lewis Memorial Trophy, awarded annually since 1962, recognises the best combined record in all levels of SANFL competition.[40] The trophy is awarded to the best performed club across three grades of the competition – League, Reserves and Under 18, with 100 points allocated for a league win, 50 points for a reserves win and 50 points for an Under 18 win. In the event of a draw, half of the points allocated for a win in that grade are awarded to each club involved.[40]

Individual

The Magarey Medal is awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player in the SANFL each season and is the oldest individual football award in Australia.[41]

The medal was originated by and is named after William Ashley Magarey who, in 1897, was the inaugural chairman of the South Australian Football Association (as the SANFL was then known). In 1898, in an effort to stamp out rough play and improve respect of umpires, Magarey instituted the medal to be awarded to the player deemed by umpires to be the fairest and most brilliant for that season. The inaugural winner of the medal was Norwood's Alby Green. Magarey presented every medal until he died in 1929, with West Adelaide's Robert Snell the last to receive the medal during Magarey's life. The Magarey Medal is still awarded to the fairest and most brilliant SANFL player each season. The Reserves Magarey Medal recognises the standout performers in the seconds or Reserves. It is not unusual for the Reserves Magarey winner to play only half a season in the 'seconds' and the rest of the season in their club's league team.

The Ken Farmer Medal, much like the Coleman Medal in the AFL, is awarded to the league player with the most goals in a season. Named after North Adelaide and South Australia's most prolific goal-kicker Ken Farmer who ended his SANFL career with a still record 1,417 goals, the medal was introduced in 1981 after Farmer's death, with Port Adelaide's Tim Evans winning the inaugural award. Evans kicked 1,019 goals in premiership matches for the Magpies between 1975 and 1986, and is the only player other than Farmer who has kicked over 1,000 goals in the SANFL.

There are also the McCallum and Tomkins Medals, which up until the 2008 season were awarded to the best and fairest players of the U-17 and U-19 divisions respectively. These awards were merged in 2009 when the two under-age competitions were replaced with an U-18's league, similar to those adopted in the West Australian Football League and the VFL's TAC Cup. The first winner of the newly created McCallum-Tomkins Medal was South Adelaide's Luke Bowd.

The Jack Oatey Medal is awarded to the player voted best on ground in the SANFL Grand Final, first awarded in the 1981 premiership decider to Russell Ebert of Port Adelaide. In the same year, the Fos Williams Medal was also commissioned to recognise the standout performer for South Australia in interstate football, the first of which was awarded to Peter Carey of Glenelg.

Despite State of Origin football disappearing from the AFL calendar in 1999, the medal continues to be awarded to the best player for the SANFL representative team in interstate football.

The R.O. Shearman Medal, since its inception in 2000, is awarded to the player voted by the League's senior coaches on a 5–4–3–2–1 basis each game of the home-and-away season.[42]

The Bob Quinn Medal is awarded to the player voted best afield in the Anzac Day matches between the Grand Finalists of the previous year. Commissioned in 2002, the medal was first won by James Gowans of Central District.

Also in 2002, the SANFL created the South Australian Football Hall of Fame to recognise the players, coaches, umpires, administrators and journalists who had made a significant contribution in the SANFL. The inaugural class of 2002 saw 113 inductees into the Hall of Fame and included such greats as Russell Ebert, Ken Farmer, Barrie Robran, Malcolm Blight, Fos Williams, Brian Faehse, Lindsay Head, Neil Kerley, Rick Davies and Jack Oatey.

SANFL Women's
Main article: SANFL Women's League

In February 2017, the SANFL followed the example of VFL Women's (Victoria) and created a state-based women's Australian rules football competition replicating its men's league. The SANFLW expanded over the following two years and is now played by eight of the SANFL clubs (Adelaide and Port Adelaide do not feature) from February to May each year. Due to the timing of the league, most SANFLW are not contracted to clubs in the semi-professional AFL Women's national competition. North Adelaide are the current league premiers.

Other SANFL competitions
Main article: List of SANFL premiers § Minor grades

Aside from the senior SANFL competition, the league has operated a reserves competition since 1919 and has operated several underage competitions. Under 19 and Under 17 competitions were run from 1937 and 1939 respectively until 2008. In 2009 the league elected to merge these competitions to form the Under 18 competition (initially known as the Maccas Cup), and it also introduced an under 16 competition the following year. Neither Adelaide nor Port Adelaide field teams in these competitions; Adelaide having never fielded such teams and Port Adelaide disbanding their underage teams in 2014 and their reserves team in 2018.[43][44]

For a full list of reserves and under 16-19 premiers, see List of SANFL premiers#Minor grades.

See also

Sources

References
  1. Rucci, Michelangelo (24 February 2016). "New logo, new brand as SANFL strives to strengthen image in State football". The Advertiser.
  2. SA FOOTBALL COMMISSION AND AFL AGREE TO TRANSFER OF CROWS AND POWER LICENCES
  3. "LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". Southern Australian. VII (549). South Australia. 20 August 1844. p. 2. Retrieved 3 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "THE GAWLER INSTITUTE RURAL FETE". The South Australian Advertiser. I (208). South Australia. 10 March 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 3 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Adelaide (Original)". AustralianFootball.com.
  6. "Football". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 7 July 1873. p. 6. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40779659
  8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90881172
  9. 4 Quarters, Issue No.4, pg 49, September/October 2008, Slattery Media
  10. Page 5 of 'League Football in South Australia' (circa 1978). Official SANFL publication describing the SANFL's history up to and including its 1977 Centenary season.
  11. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40794431
  12. "03 Oct 1877 - FOOTBALL. THE SEASON OF 1877". nla.gov.au.
  13. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207646685
  14. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/73071023
  15. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/25649155/2313263
  16. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/209066106
  17. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/34563101
  18. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/34577131
  19. "The Football Difficult". Adelaide Observer. Adelaide, SA. 6 May 1899. p. 19.
  20. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208847369
  21. "Port Magpies, Crows out of SANFL". Canberra Times. 12 May 2020.
  22. 2007 Salary Cap Changes, media release, FootySA
  23. SANFL announces new CEO
  24. 2008 SANFL Match Program announced, 29 November 2007, SANFL website
  25. SANFL returns to commercial TV in 2014 for first time since 1991 after signing deal with Channel Seven
  26. "Grand Finals". SANFL. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  27. Double Header Blues for Port
  28. "Spectacular Football". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 10 June 1924. p. 12. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  29. SANFL 2014 Annual Report
  30. SANFL 2013 Annual Report
  31. SANFL 2012 Annual Report
  32. SANFL 2011 Annual Report
  33. SANFL 2010 Annual Report
  34. SANFL 2009 Annual Report
  35. SANFL 2008 Annual Report
  36. SANFL 2007 Annual Report
  37. SANFL 2006 Annual Report
  38. Main Page, FootySA website
  39. Thread Page, Big Footy website
  40. "Stanley H. Lewis Trophy". SANFL. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  41. "History of the SANFL".
  42. Summerton wins 2014 R.O. Shearman Medal as voted by the League's coaches
  43. "Port Adelaide Magpies legend Russell Ebert slams changes to club's junior teams". Adelaide Now. 27 August 2014.
  44. "PORT MAGPIES' RESERVES DUMPED". The Advertiser. 30 October 2018.

Club websites
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