FIVE years ago Gisborne members voted against the recommendation of their committee and opted to keep the Bulldogs in the Bendigo Football Netball League for the 2010 season, and beyond.
It came down to a September 2009 vote by members to either remain in the BFNL or pull up stumps and re-locate to the Ballarat F.L. thereby becoming the 12th club there.
Back in August five seasons back the Bulldog committee had voted in favour of a shift to Ballarat.
The Ballarat hub had been actively wooing the Graveyard Dogs for a decision since the end of May 2009.
Yet five established Gisborne stars, plus 2009 coach Ty Elliott, had told the Advertiser a week before the vote they were firmly in favour of staying with Bendigo.
These players were favourite son Luke Saunders who was also to coach the Dogs, captain Anthony Belcher, Matt McKenzie, present day coach Rodney Sharp and Ollie Messaoudi, who's currently still on the list but sidelined through injury.
Interestingly when the motion was put to the vote in the Gardiner Reserve rooms, club president Graeme Love described the outcome as "reasonably close".
Gisborne moved across to the BFNL from the Riddell league and competed for the first time in the Bendigo competition in 2000.
About 150 votes from members were cast in that fateful 2009 ballot.
"It was a reasonably close vote and the club has decided it will be staying in the Bendigo Football League," Mr. Love said.
"I'm grateful that it's now over and done with and all we have to worry about is this Saturday and our finals campaign."
BFNL chairman Damian Drum said Gisborne's decision to remain in the BFNL was a tremendous endorsement for the league.
"It's not only a tremendous endorsement for Bendigo football, but also for the work of (chief executive officer) Steven Oliver and our team," he said.
"We've had a situation where there's been a hostile approach from Ballarat which was conducted in a poor manner. They made an offer full of sweetheart deals which may or may not have ever materialized.
"I think it's a credit to the goodwill shown by all our other clubs in our league that Gisborne was able to stare down the Ballarat offer and instead accept the advantages of playing in a league where they're fully respected and universally considered as a valuable partner," Mr. Drum added.
COACH Ty Elliott was one member of the Dogs' committee who voted against joining Ballarat when his fellow committeemen voted in favour of the shift.
The majority of the committee sitting around the table that August night had decided to vote for the Ballarat move.
"We haven't been a dominant force this season so clubs have clearly taken some enjoyment out of beating us," Elliott said.
"It's been three years since we won a Bendigo league flag, so it would just be nice to rebuild and again win a BFL premiership," he said.
Officials and delegates from both the BFNL and the Ballarat league had addressed Gisborne people a week before club members voted.
Both parties gave 10-minute presentations.
As part of the information evening, 2009 club captain Belcher spoke passionately of his desire for the club to remain a member of the Bendigo league in 2010 and beyond.
"The main thing I tried to put across was --- why go?" Belcher said.
"Ballarat is trying to promote the fact of better rivalries (with Sunbury and Melton), less travel and other financial gains.
"But I basically said if we need another $40,000 per year that Ballarat is offering there's other ways we can go about getting it."
Belcher said no one was shying away from the fact that fund-raising was "going to take a lot of work" but he would rather see that happen within the Bendigo league.
"We've got strong rivalries with clubs in the Bendigo league. We've been here for 10 years now and I just see any point in leaving.
"With the (Calder) freeway the way it is now it's just a short drive up to Bendigo so travel is hardly a factor."
ALSO keen for the Bulldogs to remain was Luke Saunders, one of the BFNL's most revered and respected players.
Saunders is not only a dual premiership captain, but won the 2005 Michelsen medal and captained the BFL to its Pool C country championships title in 2006.
He later coached the Dogs to the 2012 grand final when the result hinged on the last kick of the day --- after the final siren.
"Initially when we came into the Bendigo league from the Riddell District league we were looking to compete at a better standard," Saunders said.
"It was definitely a challenge for us to go to that next standard and at the moment we still have those challenges," he said.
"I don't believe going to the Ballarat league is necessarily a greater challenge and with the way we're at, at the moment, we can't afford to change leagues.
"The Bendigo league has been great for us and I think the feeling is mutual .... we respect the league and the league respects us."
Saunders also said he'd had "eight or nine years" in the BFNL and Gisborne had developed some great rivalries.
"Along with that comes good friendships," he added.
Saunders, known to supporters and rivals alike as the 'Rolls Royce', said he'd made a lot of good friends through the Bendigo footy community and it was something he didn't want to change.
CURRENT Graveyard Dogs' coach Rodney Sharp --- who had played more than 200 senior games by 2009 --- said "if it wasn't broke, why fix it?''
"There's no doubt we went up and into the Bendigo league 10 years ago as a challenge for us," said the long-kicking Sharp.
"Getting Mick McGuane as coach (in 2002) was paramount in setting up a successful decade.
"We've had 10 years in this league now and we certainly don't want to be seen as a club that just jumps around from league to league."
Perhaps Gisborne's best-known hard nut inside midfielder is Ollie Messaoudi. He was just that five years ago and despite his 2014 season being hampered by injury remains one of the BFNL's toughest characters.
Messaoudi captained the Blue and Gold inter-league side which, against all predictions, downed the powerful Ballarat side at Bacchus Marsh in May 2009.
"I don't really see the point in switching leagues unless you're going to a better competition," he said.
"Or maybe you'd switch because you're not good enough any more in the competition you're currently in.
"With the financial benefits Ballarat have told us we'd get they obviously want us to go there. So they are (clearly) going to gloss their offer up as much as they can," Messaoudi added.
"One of the things said last night was that a move to Ballarat would rekindle rivalries with the likes of (former Riddell league clubs) Sunbury and Melton, but I wasn't part of that with Gisborne back in those days."
Messaoudi stressed the Graveyard Dogs now had their own special BFNL rivalries with the likes of Golden Square and Eaglehawk.
VETERAN Matt McKenzie also stressed the importance of Gisborne's rivalries within the Bendigo league.
"We know what we need to be competitive in this league, whereas we would be going blind into Ballarat.
"With the Ballarat F.L. my personal opinion is it's going into the unknown. And then you also have to consider the sorts of conditions you would be playing in over there.
"And what happens, say, after 10 years in the Ballarat league? Do we then have to look at a move to somewhere else?
"When we came across to Bendigo a decade ago it was to play at a higher standard. But we wouldn't be going to Ballarat to play in a higher standard," McKenzie said.
Richard's tips for round 17: South by 27 points, Sandhurst by 49, Kangaroo Flat by 14, Maryborough by 7 and on Sunday Strathfieldsaye by 44.
2014 season tally: 67.
By Richard Jones
