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PORT CONFIRMS SANFL CALL<\/p>\n
Port Adelaide says it\u2019s leaving the SANFL, as calls for a national reserves competition continue. <\/p>\n
Club chief executive Matthew Richardson confirmed the exit would be finalised after its Adelaide Oval licence deal ends in 2028. <\/p>\n
An eventual move to the VFL looms as a possibility, while the Crows could make a similar call after also publicly backing a nationwide second-tier league. <\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, for us, we need to make sure that that program is giving us the best chance to develop our AFL players in the best capacity,\u201d Richardson said on SEN.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, as it is, it is not, so our agreement to play in the SANFL is linked to the Adelaide Oval licence deal which ends in 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t be in the SANFL beyond that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Port Adelaide has been playing in the SANFL since its inception in 1870, winning a record 36 premierships. <\/p>\n
Richardson put the decision down to Port Adelaide\u2019s development of its young AFL players, which he believes aren\u2019t getting the best chance at progressing in the SANFL. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the players you play with,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at all the other AFL teams that are operating in other competitions, the quality of the players that they\u2019ve got around their young players is at a very different level of what we are able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes as the Power this year copped their second wooden spoon in three years. <\/p>\n
The club is preparing to officially welcome Next Generation Academy star Dougie Cochrane in November as the likely No.1 pick. <\/p>\n
Port hasn\u2019t been busy at the top of the draft in recent seasons, with forward Joe Berry its only first-round selection in the past four-year span. <\/p>\n
The VFL \u2014 which is effectively an \u2018eastern reserves competition\u2019 following its merger with the NEAFL and inclusion of Tasmania this past year \u2014 features 22 AFL-aligned and standalone clubs. <\/p>\n
READ MORE:<\/p>\n
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