Weekly Times | MEMBERS of Ouyen United and Walpeup-Underbool will soon decide between two proposals for the merged entity of the two clubs.
After weeks of being at a virtual standstill, a committee last week finalised two proposals for what the new club — to play in the Sunraysia league — would be named, its jumper, and where it would play.
The Mallee league, where the clubs play, will dissolve after this season after a regional review.
“To get to this point now is a massive relief and now we can get a good indication from our members,” Ouyen United president Jarrod Munro said.
Proposal one would name the club Ouyen United but have it wear Walpeup-Underbool’s blue-and-white stripes. The second proposal calls the club Ouyen Districts with a newly designed black jumper with one blue and one white strip down the right shoulder.
In both proposals the club has a new logo, and would play five home games at Ouyen and three games in Underbool.
The mascot is undetermined — both clubs’ existing mascots, Demons and Kangaroos, are already in use by Sunraysia league clubs Mildura and Wentworth.
The traditional Demons jumper worn by Ouyen United has also been overlooked because Mildura wears it.
Walpeup-Underbool president Jamie Latta said having a minimum three games at Underbool was a non-negotiable to justify maintaining the facilities.
Representatives from each club on the merger committee voted for each proposal, and there are concerns about what the next step will be if each club prefers different proposals.
Latta preferred the Ouyen Districts proposal, saying the other has two elements that “keep us apart”.
“Ouyen United people will cling to the name, and Walpeup-Underbool will cling to the jumper. I prefer the second option because it blends us together more effectively; a new name, a new jumper, a new start,” Latta said. Munro did not reveal his preference to avoid influencing members’ votes.
The rivals played against each other for the last time on Saturday, with Ouyen United winning by three points.
