THE past 4½ years have been very tough for the loyal band of players and volunteers who have kept the Royal Park Football Club, which is based in the central Victorian town of Maryborough, in operation.

Since the start of the 2007 season, the Tigers' senior team has won just seven games. But even by recent standards, last weekend's outing against Avoca was a particularly grim affair. Royal Park not only lost to the Bulldogs by 209 points, it failed to kick a goal.

''When you're in the last quarter and you're getting beaten by 30 or 40 goals, it's pretty tough to keep going,'' the Tigers' 28-year-old president Justin Broad lamented. ''We've probably played sides that are better than that this year and have kicked goals, so it was a bit demoralising. But, at the same time, when you get beaten by a lot, I don't think a goal makes a hell of a difference.''

Royal Park's firsts haven't won a premiership since 1982 or made a grand final since 1993, but the Tigers were once a dominant force in the Maryborough Castlemaine District league. Between 1967 and '82 they won eight flags, and in the years they didn't take home the silverware they almost inevitably finished in the top three. ''It was a real family club,'' Broad said.

Royal Park made another four grand finals during the '80s and early '90s, only to lose them all. Since a 15-goal loss to Newstead in the 1993 decider, the club has slowly fallen away. It last made the finals in 2006.

The Tigers suffered a big blow last summer when they lost their coach and ruckman, Justin Perry, and their reigning best and fairest winner, Brendan Birch. The departure of the star duo, who both moved away for work opportunities, has had a big impact on the field. Royal Park conceded 39 goals against Trentham in round eight. A week later it was beaten 44 goals to one by Navarre. Before taking on Newstead yesterday, the Tigers were at the foot of the ladder, with a percentage of less than 20.

''It's been a struggle,'' Broad said. ''Our league has gotten so much stronger over the last year or two [due to the admission of Lexton, Navarre and Natte Bealiba from the old Lexton Plains league]. You've got to be spending a lot of money or you're not going to do too well.''

A lack of young players coming through the ranks is another problem. Where Royal Park once had a very successful thirds side, this year it has been unable to field an under-17s team, while its under-14s have won just one game.

The issues that have brought Royal Park to its knees have also afflicted cross-town rival Maryborough Rovers, whose senior side scored just one goal in its 103-point loss to Carisbrook last weekend.

Today's gloomy situation is a far cry from the glorious afternoon in 1991 when Rovers and Royal Park played off in the senior grand final, which the former won by five goals.

''There is a real air of despondency around football in the town,'' admitted Ballarat league chief executive Rod Ward, whose administration hub oversees the Maryborough Castlemaine District league.

The poor form of the local major-league club, the Maryborough Magpies, who play in the strong Bendigo competition, has added to the sense of gloom. The Magpies' seniors, reserves and under-18s all lost to lowly Kyneton last weekend.

So what can be done to breathe new life into football in Maryborough? Engineering a merger between Royal Park and Maryborough Rovers has become the first priority for the region's administrators and the Victorian Country Football League.

Informal merger talks have been held in recent years, but earlier this month the first official discussion was instigated by Ward and VCFL area manager Brett Anderson.

The idea of calling the new club Maryborough United was tabled, as was a process for deciding whether home games would be held at Royal Park's ground or the one used by Rovers. Those are among the many points to be discussed when the parties meet again in the coming weeks.

''We're going to form a working party and push to get the two clubs' members voting on it at the end of the season, with a view to implementing it in 2013,'' Ward said.

Although Rovers president Dennis Hedger has come out in support of a merger, voting 'yes' will be anything but easy for everyone involved.

For now, both Rovers and Royal Park are aiming to round out the season with some competitive displays.

By Adam McNicol

Article first appeared The Sunday Age July 22, 2012