Weekly Times | SEA Lake-Nandaly Football Club president Paul Summerhayes has slammed the process that is determining which league it will play in next year, calling it a “debacle” that has taken “way too long”.
The Tigers are preparing for the last Mallee league grand final against Ouyen United on Saturday, but their future remains in limbo.
The five-club competition will be no more after Saturday, after the North West Structural Review completed earlier this year — involving three regional commissions — recommended it disband.
Sea Lake-Nandaly on Monday received notification from AFL Central Victoria’s Paul Hamilton that it would have to make a written submission to AFL Victoria making its case as to why it should be accepted into the North Central league.
An AFL Victoria spokesman yesterday said the governing body hoped to have the appeal completed by the end of the month. The spokesman said a second party would be required to compile a submission for the appeal, but who that would be was still undecided yesterday.
The review’s final report, released in June, preferred the Tigers and Woomelang-Lascelles merge and join the Central Murray league. Alternatively it recommended the two clubs individually join the North Central or Golden Rivers leagues but saw them as “short-term or less than satisfactory” options.
The Tigers have long preferred to enter the North Central league.
Last week Woomelang-Lascelles members decided their club would not field any teams next year. The Cats analysed deals with three clubs, including the Tigers, but club president Shane Michael said the Tigers’ position and perceived uncertainty about the North Central league’s future weighed against some proposals.
The AFL Central Victoria commission raised concerns with Sea Lake-Nandaly about it joining the North Central league, which falls under its jurisdiction, including existing clubs’ ability to retain and recruit players, and its upcoming review and potential changes to its leagues. The club sent a response to those concerns. The North Central clubs previously voted 5-2 against the Tigers joining, but its board voted 4-3 in favour thanks to chairman Kevin Anderson’s casting vote.
Summerhayes said the process was impacting on the club.
“They’re a seven-team comp, same as the Mallee ... was last year,” he said. “It’s unbelievable that anyone could think that bringing another club in is going to cause any harm ... I think it’s more saving a league than causing trouble in a league.”
AFL Wimmera Mallee region general manager Bruce Petering addressed rumours the Tigers would have to pay an application fee to have an appeal heard. The AFL Victoria spokesman confirmed there would be no fee for the appeal.
“I passed on that information to Sea Lake-Nandaly last week — it might have been a bit hasty on my behalf,” Petering said.
He said it shouldn’t necessarily be up to the Tigers to justify their case to join the North Central league, but rather those clubs that voted down the request. Hamilton could not be reached for comment.
