THE Nullawil Football Netball Club last week voted to move to the North Central Football League (NCFL) for next season – however, that move is far from finalised, according to Central Rivers Chairman John Keely.
Keely spoke with The Guardian this week in the wake of the news of Nullawil’s impending departure from the Golden Rivers Football Netball League, and outlined that although the Maroon’s may have voted to shift south, the matter was far from finished.
“We’re aware of what’s happened and we’re disappointed – the Central Rivers Board do not support the decision and we don’t believe it’s in the best interests of the Golden Rivers Football Netball League,” said Keely.
“There’s a few things that we are disappointed about regarding the process that was conducted – at this point, we won’t be supporting their proposal.”
In order to move to the NCFL, Nullawil will at this stage need the support of the Central Rivers Board – and although that would appear unlikely at this point, there is still a process that needs to be followed, according to Keely.
“They (Nullawil) have to put a letter to the Central Rivers Board prior to October 31 and then we will consider their proposal and then decide from there whether we say yes or no,” Keely said.
“If we say no, it’s Nully’s right to then appeal to the AFL Central Victoria commission.
“They failed to meet the July deadline originally to notify us of their intention to leave – there’s a ruling that any club wishing to move to a different league are meant to apply to the regional manager prior to July 31 and they failed to do that.
“They were then able to get dispensation from AFL Victoria after missing the deadline – we’re unsure as to the reasoning they used to get that dispensation, but they were granted permission to negotiate a move with the North Central Football League Board.
“If, for some reason we decide to let them move, then they are gone – however, if we say no, they can then appeal to the AFL Central Victoria commission and then go before them and present their case.”
Although it would be a bitter blow for the Central Rivers Board and the Golden Rivers FNL, Keely said the board were keen to canvass the thoughts of the remaining seven GRFNL clubs, with a meeting to be held this Sunday (October 24) on the matter.
“Obviously, they’re all really disappointed too,” Keely said.
“But there’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge yet, and we just want to give all the other clubs the chance to have their say and voice their opinion on the matter.”
