Geelong Advertiser |VETERAN coach John Fitzgerald has backed the proposed league changes to local footy, saying there is evidence that proud clubs can prosper after slipping back to a lower league.
At least two clubs will be banished from the GFL as early as next season when AFL Barwon cuts the league back from 12 teams to 10.
Two of the GFL’s most vulnerable clubs, North Shore and Geelong West-St Peter’s, are vehemently opposed to the plan, fearing demotion could destroy their identity and cripple their existence to a point of no return.
Fitzgerald, who coached South Barwon and Bell Park to GFL premierships and is now leading Drysdale, acknowledged the coming months would be “a tumultuous period” for local footy but said there was no shame about playing in a lower league.
“When I started playing footy, Blue West, North Geelong, East Geelong, Thomson, they were all GFL clubs, but they’ve gone down and history will probably say that once you go down, you’re not coming back,” Fitzgerald said.
