Timing is everything in sport and sometimes things just happen for a reason.
The fact that the bottom-four teams in the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (WGFNC) played out the two closest games of round 15 – four teams that would be in division two of a two-tier competition moving forward – well doesn’t that extol the virtues of a promotion/relegation model of sport just perfectly?
Divisional football in West Gippsland would motivate, inspire, and provide a sense of direction, ultimately leading to a more enriching and satisfying existence for clubs that currently have no chance of playing finals at all.
After five more weeks of footy, Dalyston, Garfield, Korumburra-Bena and Kooweerup will hang up the boots for 2025, instead of being a realistic chance of adding senior premiership gold letters to their honour boards.
Based on Saturday’s results, Dalyston would be motivated by the prospect of winning its first premiership since 2015, Garfield 2013, while Kooweerup’s drought extends all the way back to 1981.
And since the Korumburra and Bena clubs merged in 2001 the new entity is yet to taste senior success.
At the end of the day, that’s the purpose of divisional football…to inspire clubs and give them hope.
The WGFNC clubs have the ideal platform to take a step in that direction tonight, Wednesday 23 July, when they vote on the applications of Drouin, Officer and Pakenham to join their competition.
The WGFNC would grow from 11 to 14 clubs…and so much closer to a divisional model and improved relevance throughout the region.
But a no vote would question what those letters really stand for.
The W is currently up for debate, we have some ideas, but the GFNC would certainly stand for Goldilocks For New Clubs…you can’t be too big, you can’t be too good…you must be ‘just right’ to play football and netball in our competition.
A pessimistic view from WGFNC clubs would see the junior programs at both Officer and Pakenham as being too big and a threat to the competition balance moving forward.
But an optimistic view would see that as an opportunity, to have every player that plays junior football at those two clubs; knowing that their senior football journey has a natural progression to West Gippsland.
An optimistic view would see that as a wonderful starting point to help clubs struggling in that critical development area of the game.
Drouin, Officer and Pakenham would be fully-fledged and dedicated West Gippsland clubs; when it comes to juniors…that could surely only be a positive.
And some clubs are also doubting the prospect of having 14 clubs for next year; and the difficulties that would exist in regards to fixturing.
The reality is the WGFNC has not had a fair and equitable fixture since 2018, after Tooradin-Dalmore and Warragul Industrials joined the competition the following year.
This is a competition that has spent a lot of money and invested a lot of time into getting to this point in time.
A Strategic Plan was a large part of that investment; and the opening words are these.
OUR VISION
• Victoria’s destination football netball competition.
And its number-one value is this…
PROGRESSIVE
• Striving for growth and improvement opportunities.
It’s time to see if that investment has been worthwhile, or if the WGFNC Strategic Plan becomes just another irrelevant document – with words that mean nothing – that ends up on the scrap heap.
Drouin, Officer and Pakenham will be voted on individually, with 17 of 22 votes (11 football and 11 netball) required for a positive outcome.
The vote takes place at the Bass Recreation Reserve at 7pm tonight, Wednesday 23 July.
