Restructure in WA sees 25-year-old competition foldJARRAD NINYETTE's efforts throughout the 2008 season in the Sunday Football League will never be surpassed. Neither for that matter will Darrin Smith's, Malcolm Yarran's, Shaun Bennell's, Wesley Punch's and Douglas Dick's. At least in the record books.
That's because the Aboriginal footballers' league is no more. The SFL, which launched several prominent footballers' careers, including that of one of the greatest, Graham 'Polly' Farmer, is now defunct and its teams have been forced to find new leagues.
Ninyette, who played with Gosnells last year, was voted the SFL's best player in 2008, winning the league's Bowden Medal. He kicked 37 goals for the Hawks from the midfield. His team-mate Smith booted a league-high 72 majors to win the league's goal-kicking award. The pair also shared in the Hawks' 2008 premiership.
Gosnells, along with Maddington, Kelmscott and Canning, has been forced to follow Thornlie's lead in seeking inclusion into the West Australian Amateur Football League following the league's dramatic collapse yesterday. It comes after the SFL's board of directors fought to save its clubs when it became apparent the league could not operate under its current structure.
"The directors have been working hard over the past months to ensure that a six-club Sunday Football League competition was viable for 2009," Wayne Molloy, chairman of the SFL, said in a statement yesterday. "Unfortunately, due to concerns over the competitiveness and viability of some clubs, this has not eventuated.
"Our focus has always been to ensure that all SFL clubs continue to exist. The clubs have had to make this difficult call to ensure their survival."
In 2008, in what was now the SFL's last, Yarran, from Armadale club, won the goal umpire's award and in the reserves, Bennell was voted fairest-and-best. Maddington's Punch won its goal-kicking award and Armadale's Douglas Dick tied (with Gosnell's Alex Frisby) to win the Colts fairest-and-best.
The Sunday Football League, home to an array of clubs in Perth's south-eastern corridor, was formed in 1983 following the amalgamation of the South Suburban Football Association and the West Australian Football Association. Until recently, it was Perth's most popular Sunday competition. According to WA football historian Les Everett from
AustralianRules.com.au the league had its origins in 1909.
It has produced numerous top Aboriginal footballers, including Fremantle and North Melbourne wiz Winston Abraham (Kelmscott) and current Docker Roger Hayden, who won a flag with Gosnells in 1999. In 1949, 1950 and 1952, writes Everett, two youngsters from Sister Kate's Orphanage won premierships with Kenwick and Maddington. They were Farmer and Ted Kilmurray, who both went on to forge outstanding football careers in WA and Victoria.
While the majority of the SFL's clubs seek entry into the WAAFL, Kenwick and Armadale are seeking inclusion in the Peel Football League, based in and around Mandurah, south of Perth.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Last Modified on 04/03/2009 22:11