Will local football be able to survive?
Editorial:-
The Upper Murray Football Netball League (UMFNL) is once again at a critical juncture concerning its future.
With two clubs already in recess, the competition has been reduced to just four clubs and now even the major town of Corryong is struggling badly with senior football player numbers.
The Border-Walwa club went into recess at the end of the 2019 season and Federals followed suit at the end of the 2022 season.
This issue is not new. It was identified as far back as the late 1990s when an options paper was presented to the league highlighting a significant decline in student enrolments at Corryong College (almost 50 per cent in 25 years) which would have a flow-on effect on player numbers.
At that time, the Federal and Corryong clubs agreed in principle to merge and join the Tallangatta & District Football League - a move that would have provided stronger long-term sustainability and better junior development pathways.
However, Corryong later withdrew from that plan.
Bullioh then reformed after a hiatus of 23 years (after merging with Tallangatta in 1978) and joined the Upper Murray league in 2001 making it a six-club competition. The Bulldogs have won nine senior premierships since then including a quartet of flags from 2008-2011 and they are shooting for a hat trick this season.
The Dogs subsequently applied to join the Tallangatta league in 2023 but this was rejected. There are no guarantees that the Bulldogs will not re-apply and if successful, that would leave three clubs in the Upper Murray league which would make a sustainable competition virtually untenable.
Following AFL North East Border (NEB) conducting a feasibility study in 2020, a preliminary report delivered to the clubs raised concerns about the league’s immediate future while it was only presented with the one option of continuing regardless of the risks.
The study report identified a lack of confidence in the viability of the UMFNL and that there was no alternate model presented should the competition fail.
In accepting the finding, the league established an independent working party to explore an amalgamated club option as a realistic and necessary alternative under a ‘One Vision’ concept but once again, Federals were unable to gain the support required from other clubs to move forward with the proposal.
Following Corryong’s plight this season, Tumbarumba president and league vice-president, Mont Waters, recently called on AFL North East Border to step in and help resolve what has essentially been a self-inflicted crisis, driven largely by deep rivalries between clubs.
It is worth noting that the league executive comprises delegates from its clubs which means understandably, that their priority is to protect their vested interests.
The most concerning issue remains the lack of proper junior pathways. The worsening junior player shortage has never been properly addressed. At one stage, an Under 18 side had to travel to Wagga every week simply to play against their own age group. Meanwhile, at least 20 junior players are now choosing to play with clubs in the Tallangatta League or the Albury-Wodonga Junior League because those competitions offer stronger and more age-appropriate development opportunities.
Corryong coach Evan Nicholas has now suggested that Upper Murray clubs consider joining the Tallangatta League within a two-tier competition structure that includes promotion and relegation.
This proposal deserves serious consideration, but will it be a case of too little, too late?
The reality is clear. Doing nothing is no longer an option.
The clubs must put old rivalries aside and make decisions based on survival and sustainability and the future of local football and netball.
