Weekly Times |Jeparit-Rainbow Football Club’s move into the Horsham and District Football League was ticked off by the league’s board and clubs on Wednesday night.
Last month AFL Wimmera Mallee granted the Lakers leave to pursue the move on “compassionate grounds” due to concern over its short-term survival if it stayed in the Mallee Football League.
Jeparit-Rainbow representatives were investigating a move into the Horsham league when it was announced that a large scale review of football in the area would take place.
A freeze was placed on clubs switching leagues while the review was undertaken, which the Lakers were later released from.
The HDFL board and clubs voted on the motion to accept the Lakers into the league at Wednesday night’s annual general meeting.
A two-thirds majority was required for the application to be successful and AFL Wimmera Mallee’s Stephen McQueen said the motion passed with a “comfortable majority”.
Jeparit-Rainbow president Brett Fisher said the club was “rejuvenated” since it had been permitted to go for a move.
The club will now need to consider new guernsey colours because the current colours would clash with existing HDFL clubs, and readjust its junior football and netball age groups to conform with its new league.
“We’re very relieved and excited looking forward to the future,” Fisher said of Wednesday’s result.
He hoped a coaching panel would be announced next week and said all but two of this year’s senior players had been retained.
“The guys looking to return to the club are ex-locals from down that way which is the whole reason we were pushing to go that way to attract those guys back to the club,” Fisher said.
McQueen said the byes resulting from the addition of an 11th team in the league would eliminate the need for split rounds with the season to be two weeks shorter overall as a result.
HDFL’s round one will be on the April 11 weekend and the grand final on September 12.