End of An SANFL Era
1990 marked the last year in which the SANFL existed without an Adelaide-based team in the Australian Football League (AFL), with the Adelaide Crows being formed in 1991.
The formation of the Adelaide Crows was largely due to Port Adelaide's attempts to join the AFL. This met with resistance and outrage from the SANFL and other SANFL teams. The SANFL had resisted entering an Adelaide-based team in the AFL for several years, but Port Adelaide's attempted entry had forced their hand.
The bitterness against Port Adelaide for their AFL entry bid was summed up by Glenelg coach Graham Cornes in his post-match speech to the Port players when he said "You should all enjoy this moment while it lasts. The good times are well and truly over... there's a couple of individuals out there (in the Port Adelaide Football Club) that have a lot to answer for". Cornes was then hastily ushered out amongst jeers from Port players and officials. Ironically, Cornes left Glenelg to coach the Crows in 1991.
The entry of an Adelaide-based team significantly weakened the SANFL competition by taking the best players from each club. From Port Adelaide, the Crows took Hodges, Darren Smith, Tregenza, Abernethy, and D. Brown, while Wanganeen joined Essendon, Hynes joined West Coast, and R. Smith joined St Kilda. From Glenelg, the Crows took Murphy, Marshall, Jameson, McDermott, Liptak, and coach Cornes.
While SANFL clubs had been losing star players to AFL teams for several years, the entry of the Adelaide Crows made it more acceptable and even expected for the top SANFL players to join other AFL clubs also.
When Port Adelaide finally entered a team in the AFL in 1997 as Port Adelaide Power, John Cahill was the inaugural coach with Mark Williams as Assistant Coach and Gavin Wanganeen was captain. David Brown and Scott Hodges were also members of the initial playing squad.
Read more about this topic: 1990 SANFL Grand Final
Famous quotes containing the word era:
“It struck me that the movies had spent more than half a century saying, “They lived happily ever after” and the following quarter-century warning that they’ll be lucky to make it through the weekend. Possibly now we are now entering a third era in which the movies will be sounding a note of cautious optimism: You know it just might work.”
—Nora Ephron (b. 1941)