- May 8, 2001
- 5,696
- 874
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
- Other Teams
- CDFC (SANFL), Port Melb (VFL)
Hi Footy fans...
Not since the 1990's has there been more than one interstate match. In fact, since 2018 it has been just two football powers going at it. So while the Gather Round has brought state league football to a standstill, it has presented the opportunity for the SANFL's best footballers to pull on the famous red guernsey and also the possibility of the resurrection of another historic strip that everyone believed was totally laid to rest after a disastrous showing in 2017. While the SANFL and the WAFL have kept the tradition of representative football alive, the absence of the VFL from the state arena hasn't gone un-noticed. But while that self-imposed exile may just be coming to an end, that hopefully brings with it an attitude change in how VFL players approach their return to state footy, lest that return be short-lived. So in the tradition of past greats of the respective leagues, like the lionheart Neil Kerley and the Association icon Fred Cook, may this rivalry truly be re-awakened.
Welcome to this special edition of the Wrap... the 2024 battle between the SANFL and the VFL.
Much has changed in the VFL over the last few years. Of course I refer to their merger with the North East Australian Football League in of all times, the aftermath of COVID-19 in 2020. Yes that's right, not only were both those leagues put into mothballs that year, but while the SANFL and the WAFL were making the best of a bad situation the AFL decided to smoosh the VFL and NEAFL competitions together, effectively creating what will probably be the nucleus of a bonafide national reserves competition. The VFL now has not only the 16 Victorian-based clubs, but also five more outside their borders. That's all the AFL reserves teams from the eastern states, a few clubs in Victoria still aligned to AFL clubs and then of course the stand alone clubs with long standing history in the VFL stemming from the days of when it was still known at the Association, some of which are in a bad way financially such as Coburg and the Northern Bullants. Speaking of the stand-alones, the most noteworthy inclusion for the VFL is that of the Southport Sharks, a rich Gold Coast-based outfit with a successful past in QLD football with 21 premierships over a 60+ year history. Some clubs that were in the NEAFL such as Canberra, Redland and Sydney University were unable to commit to the change, while Aspley saw out one season of VFL football in 2021 before returning to the Queensland league. As for their fortunes on the state arena... well, it hasn't been kind to them.
South Australia's battles against the Sandgropers over the last few years saw them re-gain and retain the Haydn Bunton Junior Trophy. After losing the cup in 2015, victory in 2019 in Perth saw them wrest back control of the prize and to date still have it, defeating WA last season in a gritty encounter at Adelaide Oval. The SANFL and the WAFL have practically made it their business to keep one of the last great traditions of Australian football alive, while the Victorian Football League sat on the sidelines. In 2016, the Vics fell to the Croweaters by 19 points and were noticably absent from the after-match function in the Adelaide Oval rooms. But then came 2017, which saw the beginning of the VFL's state football exile. Western Australia ended over a century of pain in Melbourne with a 63-point hammering of the Vics at North Port Oval and the fallout was quite damning. Post-match coverage from the WA papers painted a horrid picture of the VFL team, from the players being labelled as individuals and not having a team-oriented mentality, as well as not giving enough of a thought to how they presented themselves at the after-match presentations. The VFL players turned up at the Port Melbourne rooms in clothing far from looking like a state side, as compared to their black & gold uniformed conquerors. After this, it looked as though the Big V jumper was all but buried. Their last victory felt like a lifetime away back in 2012, putting the Tasmanian State League to the sword by 18 goals at Bellerive. Against the Croweaters, they have taken the trophy just once with a 56-point victory back in 2002 at the Adelaide Oval.
Selecting a side this early in the year was going to be difficult, given the lack of extensive game time for both playing groups. In control of the camps, looking at the SANFL first we find 2022 Norwood premiership coach Jade Rawlings retaining his position as senior coach, while Glenelg's 2023 premiership coach Darren Reeves and Roosters coach Jacob Surjan still on board as his subordinates with the addition of Panthers assistant Jarrad Parker this time around. Several familiar faces from the successful 2023 side included Ken Farmer Medal winner Liam McBean, Fos Williams Medal winners Casey Voss (2022) and James Rowe (2023), as well Eagles back-to-back premiership captain Joe Sinor. Making their first appearance in the red would be the current Magarey Medal winner Harry Grant along with fellow Bulldog Jez McLennan, Norwood's Jackson Callow and Tiger Corey Lyons. The Big V coaching panel saw Zane Littlejohn take on the top role in addition to his duties at Box Hill, along with current senior club coaches Adam Skrobalak (Port Melbourne), as well as QLD-based duo Steve Daniel (Southport) and former Adelaide player Ben Hudson (Brisbane). The VFL selectors picked a squad of 50 in the week prior to Round 2, a week before the SANFL season started. Leading the charge would be Werribee veteran Dom Brew, who helped the "Bees" make their first Grand Final in almost 20 years and was among seven Tigers in the team. His vice-captains would be Box Hill middy Callum Brown and Sharks co-skipper Jacob Dawson, the latter coming runner-up in last year's JJ Liston Trophy. There would be a few familiar faces to SANFL fans, among them former North Adelaide player and 2018 premiership team member Boyd Woodcock. Currently with Southport after a stint with Port Adelaide in the AFL, he racked up 44 disposals and 11 clearances alone against Port Melbourne in Round 1. Dawson and Woodcock were among five Sharks in the side. Remarkably, the reigning VFL premiers in Gold Coast would have no representation, with the bulk of their VFL-listed contingent departing the club post-season.
The match would take place around the midday timeslot on Saturday at the home of the current SANFL premiers, with a little over 4200 SA footy-heads, Gather Round revellers and eventually Hawthorn supporters keen to catch post-game Hawks training at Stratarama Stadium in Glenelg. It was relatively comfortable weather, though the sunblock and plenty of water was required. The Vics had the better of the early proceedings, Redleg ruck Harry Boyd had his hands full with his opposition counterpart. The man-mountain of Southport in Brayden Crossley was giving him a run for his money in the middle and providing some avenues to goal. The Croweaters were taken by surprise as the Big V went into the first change with the lead thanks to Ned Long, Trent Bianco and Roarke Smith. The latter took a hanger near the square to score the Vics' third, it took a free kick to Lachie Hosie just before hand for SA to get their goal. At quarter-time, the scoreboard was 3.2 to 1.1. But then the Croweaters found their stride in the second term, the Vics giving away some cruicial frees near the SA attacking zone. One such incident allowed Grant to find Hosie for the first goal of the quarter prior to the sixth minute. The Centrals duo in Grant and McLennan were proving a problem in the middle and the Croweaters eventually found themselves in front by 14 minutes. Glenelg trio Hosie, McBean and eventually Luke Reynolds got the SANFL out to a 10-point lead, but then Crossley and fellow Shark Hugh Dixon put the Vics back ahead by the half-time break by two points. This was a hard fought game. Any football purist looking for the Vics to put up a fight would have largely been getting their money's worth.
The Vics unfortunately went missing in their attacking zone during the third quarter, squandering several chances to cut the gap back down. But they were perhaps saving energy for the finals stanza after kicking just one behind, not allowing the Croweaters to run overly rampant in the warm conditions. The SANFL would go into the final term with a 17-point lead, they kicked 3.2 through the boots of McBean, Callow and Baynen Lowe. The Croweaters answered Victoria's early major with 2.1 up to the half-way mark of the last quarter, but then the visitors made a last-ditch attempt to nick the result and kept the home side scoreless for the remaining time. Their accuracy just wasn't up to scratch however, they scored four straight behinds over five minutes which if any landed true could very well have caused an upset. Woodcock did manage to break the drought deep into time-on, however the cup was well out of reach as South Australia would win the day, victorious by 14 points in a physical, entertaining match worthy of being a part of the football festivities in Adelaide. In the best afield departments, the Croweaters had McBean and Hosie kick six goals between them, while the physicality came from Grant, Mitch O'Neill and Matt Allen with 25 tackles total. Overall, the Fos Williams Medal was awarded to Jez McLennan with 26 disposals (15 kicks) and eight marks. In the VFL camp, Dom Brew led by example with his physicality, laying 13 tackles and notching up 21 disposals. Boyd Woodcock was also up there with the disposals with 29 of his own along with six marks, but it was Box Hill's Callum Brown that would end up earning the Frank Johnson Medal with 28 disposals along with three marks and tackles.
Saturday April 6
SANFL 10.5 (65)
VFL 7.9 (51)
4,207 @ Stratarama Stadium, Glenelg
INJURIES
SANFL -- Knight (ankle)
So will this see the return of the VFL to the representative arena? Perhaps a revival of the three-year rotational system can happen along with the WAFL. Looking forward to the next time these two famous guernseys mix it up once more. Until then, here's what's happening in your state next weekend.
SANFL Round 2
Friday April 12 @ 7:40pm
Norwood vs. Glenelg; Coopers Stadium, Norwood
Saturday April 13 @ 2:30pm
Woodville-West Torrens vs. North Adelaide; Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, Woodville
Central District vs. Adelaide; X-Convenience Oval, Elizabeth
Sunday April 14
South Adelaide vs. Sturt; Flinders University Stadium, Noarlunga @ 2:10pm
West Adelaide vs. Port Adelaide; Waikerie @ 2:30pm
VFL Round 3
Friday April 12 @ 4:05pm
Footscray vs. Essendon; Marvel Stadium
Saturday April 13
GWS vs. Sandringham; Manuka Oval, Canberra ACT @ 10:05am
Williamstown vs. Southport; DSV Stadium, Williamstown @ 12:05am
Werribee vs. Richmond; Avalon Airport Oval, Chirnside Park @ 2:05pm
Port Melbourne vs. Casey Demons; Kinetic Stadium, Frankston @ 2:05pm
Gold Coast vs. Box Hill; People First Stadium, Carrara QLD @ 2:30pm
Sunday April 14
North Melbourne vs. Brisbane; Arden Street Oval, Melbourne @ 1:05pm
Carlton vs. Collingwood; IKON Park, Carlton @ 2:05pm
Northern Bullants vs. Geelong; Genis Steel Oval, Preston @ 2:05pm
VFL start times are AEST.
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
Not since the 1990's has there been more than one interstate match. In fact, since 2018 it has been just two football powers going at it. So while the Gather Round has brought state league football to a standstill, it has presented the opportunity for the SANFL's best footballers to pull on the famous red guernsey and also the possibility of the resurrection of another historic strip that everyone believed was totally laid to rest after a disastrous showing in 2017. While the SANFL and the WAFL have kept the tradition of representative football alive, the absence of the VFL from the state arena hasn't gone un-noticed. But while that self-imposed exile may just be coming to an end, that hopefully brings with it an attitude change in how VFL players approach their return to state footy, lest that return be short-lived. So in the tradition of past greats of the respective leagues, like the lionheart Neil Kerley and the Association icon Fred Cook, may this rivalry truly be re-awakened.
Welcome to this special edition of the Wrap... the 2024 battle between the SANFL and the VFL.
Much has changed in the VFL over the last few years. Of course I refer to their merger with the North East Australian Football League in of all times, the aftermath of COVID-19 in 2020. Yes that's right, not only were both those leagues put into mothballs that year, but while the SANFL and the WAFL were making the best of a bad situation the AFL decided to smoosh the VFL and NEAFL competitions together, effectively creating what will probably be the nucleus of a bonafide national reserves competition. The VFL now has not only the 16 Victorian-based clubs, but also five more outside their borders. That's all the AFL reserves teams from the eastern states, a few clubs in Victoria still aligned to AFL clubs and then of course the stand alone clubs with long standing history in the VFL stemming from the days of when it was still known at the Association, some of which are in a bad way financially such as Coburg and the Northern Bullants. Speaking of the stand-alones, the most noteworthy inclusion for the VFL is that of the Southport Sharks, a rich Gold Coast-based outfit with a successful past in QLD football with 21 premierships over a 60+ year history. Some clubs that were in the NEAFL such as Canberra, Redland and Sydney University were unable to commit to the change, while Aspley saw out one season of VFL football in 2021 before returning to the Queensland league. As for their fortunes on the state arena... well, it hasn't been kind to them.
South Australia's battles against the Sandgropers over the last few years saw them re-gain and retain the Haydn Bunton Junior Trophy. After losing the cup in 2015, victory in 2019 in Perth saw them wrest back control of the prize and to date still have it, defeating WA last season in a gritty encounter at Adelaide Oval. The SANFL and the WAFL have practically made it their business to keep one of the last great traditions of Australian football alive, while the Victorian Football League sat on the sidelines. In 2016, the Vics fell to the Croweaters by 19 points and were noticably absent from the after-match function in the Adelaide Oval rooms. But then came 2017, which saw the beginning of the VFL's state football exile. Western Australia ended over a century of pain in Melbourne with a 63-point hammering of the Vics at North Port Oval and the fallout was quite damning. Post-match coverage from the WA papers painted a horrid picture of the VFL team, from the players being labelled as individuals and not having a team-oriented mentality, as well as not giving enough of a thought to how they presented themselves at the after-match presentations. The VFL players turned up at the Port Melbourne rooms in clothing far from looking like a state side, as compared to their black & gold uniformed conquerors. After this, it looked as though the Big V jumper was all but buried. Their last victory felt like a lifetime away back in 2012, putting the Tasmanian State League to the sword by 18 goals at Bellerive. Against the Croweaters, they have taken the trophy just once with a 56-point victory back in 2002 at the Adelaide Oval.
Selecting a side this early in the year was going to be difficult, given the lack of extensive game time for both playing groups. In control of the camps, looking at the SANFL first we find 2022 Norwood premiership coach Jade Rawlings retaining his position as senior coach, while Glenelg's 2023 premiership coach Darren Reeves and Roosters coach Jacob Surjan still on board as his subordinates with the addition of Panthers assistant Jarrad Parker this time around. Several familiar faces from the successful 2023 side included Ken Farmer Medal winner Liam McBean, Fos Williams Medal winners Casey Voss (2022) and James Rowe (2023), as well Eagles back-to-back premiership captain Joe Sinor. Making their first appearance in the red would be the current Magarey Medal winner Harry Grant along with fellow Bulldog Jez McLennan, Norwood's Jackson Callow and Tiger Corey Lyons. The Big V coaching panel saw Zane Littlejohn take on the top role in addition to his duties at Box Hill, along with current senior club coaches Adam Skrobalak (Port Melbourne), as well as QLD-based duo Steve Daniel (Southport) and former Adelaide player Ben Hudson (Brisbane). The VFL selectors picked a squad of 50 in the week prior to Round 2, a week before the SANFL season started. Leading the charge would be Werribee veteran Dom Brew, who helped the "Bees" make their first Grand Final in almost 20 years and was among seven Tigers in the team. His vice-captains would be Box Hill middy Callum Brown and Sharks co-skipper Jacob Dawson, the latter coming runner-up in last year's JJ Liston Trophy. There would be a few familiar faces to SANFL fans, among them former North Adelaide player and 2018 premiership team member Boyd Woodcock. Currently with Southport after a stint with Port Adelaide in the AFL, he racked up 44 disposals and 11 clearances alone against Port Melbourne in Round 1. Dawson and Woodcock were among five Sharks in the side. Remarkably, the reigning VFL premiers in Gold Coast would have no representation, with the bulk of their VFL-listed contingent departing the club post-season.
The match would take place around the midday timeslot on Saturday at the home of the current SANFL premiers, with a little over 4200 SA footy-heads, Gather Round revellers and eventually Hawthorn supporters keen to catch post-game Hawks training at Stratarama Stadium in Glenelg. It was relatively comfortable weather, though the sunblock and plenty of water was required. The Vics had the better of the early proceedings, Redleg ruck Harry Boyd had his hands full with his opposition counterpart. The man-mountain of Southport in Brayden Crossley was giving him a run for his money in the middle and providing some avenues to goal. The Croweaters were taken by surprise as the Big V went into the first change with the lead thanks to Ned Long, Trent Bianco and Roarke Smith. The latter took a hanger near the square to score the Vics' third, it took a free kick to Lachie Hosie just before hand for SA to get their goal. At quarter-time, the scoreboard was 3.2 to 1.1. But then the Croweaters found their stride in the second term, the Vics giving away some cruicial frees near the SA attacking zone. One such incident allowed Grant to find Hosie for the first goal of the quarter prior to the sixth minute. The Centrals duo in Grant and McLennan were proving a problem in the middle and the Croweaters eventually found themselves in front by 14 minutes. Glenelg trio Hosie, McBean and eventually Luke Reynolds got the SANFL out to a 10-point lead, but then Crossley and fellow Shark Hugh Dixon put the Vics back ahead by the half-time break by two points. This was a hard fought game. Any football purist looking for the Vics to put up a fight would have largely been getting their money's worth.
The Vics unfortunately went missing in their attacking zone during the third quarter, squandering several chances to cut the gap back down. But they were perhaps saving energy for the finals stanza after kicking just one behind, not allowing the Croweaters to run overly rampant in the warm conditions. The SANFL would go into the final term with a 17-point lead, they kicked 3.2 through the boots of McBean, Callow and Baynen Lowe. The Croweaters answered Victoria's early major with 2.1 up to the half-way mark of the last quarter, but then the visitors made a last-ditch attempt to nick the result and kept the home side scoreless for the remaining time. Their accuracy just wasn't up to scratch however, they scored four straight behinds over five minutes which if any landed true could very well have caused an upset. Woodcock did manage to break the drought deep into time-on, however the cup was well out of reach as South Australia would win the day, victorious by 14 points in a physical, entertaining match worthy of being a part of the football festivities in Adelaide. In the best afield departments, the Croweaters had McBean and Hosie kick six goals between them, while the physicality came from Grant, Mitch O'Neill and Matt Allen with 25 tackles total. Overall, the Fos Williams Medal was awarded to Jez McLennan with 26 disposals (15 kicks) and eight marks. In the VFL camp, Dom Brew led by example with his physicality, laying 13 tackles and notching up 21 disposals. Boyd Woodcock was also up there with the disposals with 29 of his own along with six marks, but it was Box Hill's Callum Brown that would end up earning the Frank Johnson Medal with 28 disposals along with three marks and tackles.
Saturday April 6
SANFL 10.5 (65)
VFL 7.9 (51)
4,207 @ Stratarama Stadium, Glenelg
INJURIES
SANFL -- Knight (ankle)
So will this see the return of the VFL to the representative arena? Perhaps a revival of the three-year rotational system can happen along with the WAFL. Looking forward to the next time these two famous guernseys mix it up once more. Until then, here's what's happening in your state next weekend.
SANFL Round 2
Friday April 12 @ 7:40pm
Norwood vs. Glenelg; Coopers Stadium, Norwood
Saturday April 13 @ 2:30pm
Woodville-West Torrens vs. North Adelaide; Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, Woodville
Central District vs. Adelaide; X-Convenience Oval, Elizabeth
Sunday April 14
South Adelaide vs. Sturt; Flinders University Stadium, Noarlunga @ 2:10pm
West Adelaide vs. Port Adelaide; Waikerie @ 2:30pm
VFL Round 3
Friday April 12 @ 4:05pm
Footscray vs. Essendon; Marvel Stadium
Saturday April 13
GWS vs. Sandringham; Manuka Oval, Canberra ACT @ 10:05am
Williamstown vs. Southport; DSV Stadium, Williamstown @ 12:05am
Werribee vs. Richmond; Avalon Airport Oval, Chirnside Park @ 2:05pm
Port Melbourne vs. Casey Demons; Kinetic Stadium, Frankston @ 2:05pm
Gold Coast vs. Box Hill; People First Stadium, Carrara QLD @ 2:30pm
Sunday April 14
North Melbourne vs. Brisbane; Arden Street Oval, Melbourne @ 1:05pm
Carlton vs. Collingwood; IKON Park, Carlton @ 2:05pm
Northern Bullants vs. Geelong; Genis Steel Oval, Preston @ 2:05pm
VFL start times are AEST.
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
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