by Dogwatcher » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:09 pm
These stories on Mallee and Mid Murray football appeared in today's Riverland Weekly:
First Bounce
But what lies ahead for football in our region......
By ROB McLEAN
THE FUTURE of our region’s football competitions is set to be investigated under a review called for by the Murray Mallee Barrier zone.
In particular focus will be the Mid Murray and Mallee competitions, both of which have clubs struggling to fill teams this season.
Neighbouring leagues in the Riverland and River Murray will also be involved in the review.
Regional director Tim Jackson said the recent struggles experienced by clubs trying to recruit players had been a wake-up call for the competitions in question.
In particular focus was Karoonda, which over the summer held emergency meetings to discuss a possible merger with RMFL club Tailem Bend.
The Magpies decided to play on this season, but it is understood the club will review its future again at the end of 2008.
Mr Jackson said the shrinking populations of Mallee and Mid Murray communities mean that many of the teams are filled by traveling players.
“The number of players who don’t live locally and travel is phenomenal amongst some of the clubs,” Mr Jackson said.
Among those relying on significant numbers of traveling players in the Mallee are Murrayville, Peake and Karoonda.
“How long that is going to be sustainable is questionable,” he said.
The review will look at how best to manage the competitions for the future and to discuss the possibilities of mergers or the transfer of clubs between leagues if those measures become necessary.
“At this stage we want to facilitate some sort of meeting between those leagues and the SANFL and do a review,” Mr Jackson said.
“A similar thing happened on the Eyre Peninsula to try and make sure locals still had footy and it was competitive.”
The Riverland’s Independent competition, which also has several Mallee clubs continually assessing their future, could be considered a potential home for some.
But Mr Jackson said at this stage that option is unlikely due to the structure of the Mallee and Mid Murray competitions.
“The problem is with the other leagues they don’t draw comparison with the Independents because they don’t have the same number of grades,” he said.
The Mallee and Mid Murray leagues have four grades (two juniors and two seniors), while the Independents have seniors and colts.
A proposed move by Ramco to the Independent competition several years ago stalled due to the competition structure.
Mr Jackson said the discussions obviously could become emotional and passionate but it is important the situation is assessed if football is to survive in those parts of the region.
“When you talk about changing, you are going to get the shutters up straight away,” he said.
“The reality is footy in the Mid Murray and Mallee needs to be addressed because if we don’t do something now it may be too late 12 months down the track.”
Survival fight continues for country clubs
By ROB McLEAN
THIS Saturday, hundreds of footballers will be competing in four different leagues across the region.
While there will be plenty of exuberance and passion on the field, the future for many of the participating clubs is questionable.
Riverland Football League teams are very strongly supported, but it has not been so easy for many clubs in the Independent, Mallee and Mid Murray competitions.
Finding players and volunteers to keep the clubs going is proving difficult, with Karoonda one club that considered whether the time had come to hang up the boots.
Other clubs have also been left to wonder just how much longer they’ll be kicking goals for.
Shrinking farms and the mining boom, which drags young people away from their home, are easily isolated as the major causes of the player drain.
A review of football across the region will possibly decide the future of some clubs – the challenge of recruiting new players just too much for some of them.
Independent club Wunkar has struggled to gain recruits this season, but is hopeful the move of Loxton’s 2002 Whillas Medallist Daniel Evans, a former junior, will precipitate a late rush.
Club secretary Brett Lines said apart from when a boom recruit with local connections arrives, the club has little pulling power to attract players.
Brett said the club prides itself on having a strong social life.
Sometimes that is not enough though and he is concerned about the Bulldogs’ future.
“I don’t know where we are going or where our league is going,” Brett said.
“I think in five years time the Independent competition will be questionable.
“Simply I don’t think the Mallee teams will cope.
“Farms are getting larger, there’s no workers out there.”
At Pinnaroo, the challenge of finding players is proving just as difficult, despite the town’s larger population.
Club president Nick Westphalen said the club is a bit at a loss as to where its future lies.
He said concerns about the sustainability of the Mallee Football League are worrying.
“We are talking about it all the time,” Nick said.
“It goes around and round at the moment and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nick said the club could have some major decisions to make in the future as to which direction it heads to play football – River Murray or Riverland.
A club that has already investigated changing leagues in the past is Ramco in the Mid Murray competition.
Several years ago Ramco discussed transferring to the Independent competition.
That move never occurred but could be on the agenda again in the future.
The Roosters head into this season with a very young side, under the tutelage of club stalwart Kym Thiel.
While Kym said his inexperienced side is in a development phase, he’s hopeful for the club’s future.
Next year is the club’s centenary, a milestone also being celebrated by nearby Waikerie this season.
Kym said the Roosters are keen to keep things going just to reach that significant milestone.
“We are hell bent on keeping it together,” Kym said.
“If this year is nothing more than people enjoying their sport, then that’s all that matters.”
A little further down river is Morgan Cadell, a club which many believe is on its last legs.
Having struggled through the last few seasons, the Tigers will be lucky to put an A grade side on the park in 2008.
Coach Andrew Johnson is not confident about the future of his club.
A relative newcomer to the area Johnson, the proprietor of Morgan’s Commercial Hotel, said the club is “really battling”.
“At the moment we are no more than a week by week proposition,” Andrew said.
The club, already the result of a merger, will struggle to find another amalgamation partner if worse comes to worse.
“I don’t know where we would go from here,” Andrew said.
“Now it’s 40 kilometres to Waikerie or 60 kilometres to Eudunda if people want to continue playing at some level.”
Back in the Mallee and Brown’s Well is a club that could be forgiven for feeling glum about its future, but club president Dave Braun is very upbeat about the Bombers’ survival chances.
Brown’s Well has won only one game in the past three years and has struggled to recruit players.
That seems to have changed this season with former juniors Brian Hampel and Tyson Beck returning to the club, along with the arrival of Cobdogla premiership player Kane Stocker.
“I think it’s given everyone around the club much more enthusiasm and even the supporters and people that run the club,” Dave said.
“We’ve already had the belief that somebody would come along and we would pick up a few blokes here and there.”
Dave is confident of the future and, while things can and do change, he espouses a belief that many in football clubs would be familiar with.
“As long as everyone still doing it has enthusiasm, the club’s going to hold together.”
Mallee towns thrived on footy
By ROB McLEAN
A DRIVE along the Loxton to Karoonda road is testament to the fact that football mergers are not a new thing.
If you look carefully enough you can see old ovals at Wanbi, Borrika and Wynarka, along with several other small settlements along the way.
In fact, a look at the histories of many of the clubs now embarking on another season will tell you they were also formed from mergers.
Karoonda, Brown’s Well, East Murray, Wunkar, Morgan Cadell and Blanchetown Swan Reach are just some of them.
One of the more prominent ovals along the Karoonda to Loxton road is at Borrika.
Former local man Peter Lines, now living on the West Coast, is researching the history of South Australian country football clubs and records that the Borrika Football Club was formed in 1916.
In 1923 it entered the Murray Lands Football League and in 1956 it merged with Sandalwood, continuing to play at Borrika.
A former footballer himself, Peter recalls playing on the ground.
“I have fond memories of the the Borrika oval,” Peter said.
“When I was a little tacker in 1971 I played a few matches for Borrika Sandalwood as East Murray, being newly merged, was pretty hard to break into.
“In 1976 I kicked 18 goals in the last minor round match to bring up 100 for the year. It was actually 18-16 after being 6-14 at half time.
“I also remember playing cricket there in about 1978-79. Before the game a Holden one tonne ute dragged a gate for a couple of laps around the cricket pitch to flatten out all the saffron thistles and level the playing surface.”
Peter was among the last to play at the oval, as the club merged again to become the Karoonda Combined Football Club in 1977.
By 1994 the region’s population had shrunk further, resulting in the merger of Karoonda with fellow Murray Lands clubs United and Wynarka and the closure of the league.
Karoonda Districts then joined the Mallee Football League.
Now, a quick drive into the Borrika oval reveals a dilapidated changeroom, cleared area with a fence around it and a scoreboard, rapidly falling apart.
The ghosts of football past are still there – reminding us of a time when small communities throughout the Mallee thrived on their weekend kicks.
Internet is abuzz with talk of local football's future
AS WITH any topic, the internet is a venue for many people to air their concerns about the future of football in our region.
The posters on the football forum SAFOOTY.net have many passionate opinions about the future of football in our region.
The following quotes were made by regular posters, who are players or supporters of Mallee football, regarding the future of the game:
Bandit: Unfortunately I don’t think that the Mallee league has a long term future, especially if Karoonda (one of the closer sides to Adelaide) is talking about mergers.
GWW: As far as the RMFL is concerned, it’s quite desperate to get another club into the league to bring it up to eight. So I'd imagine as long as it (a Mallee side) would be competitive and not located too far away from the Murray Bridge area it would be okay.
Flying Ant: Lameroo now have a much improved direct line to Loxton, would it be out of the question to suggest they join the RFL? If Murrayville/Pinnaroo (merged) were to join also this would denote there being a bye in the league...
Dreamer: I had already heard that Lameroo, Peake and maybe Karoonda had a meeting about merging and joining RMFL as soon as next year. Could all be rubbish, but that is the way the competition is heading.
Not Scared: All netball teams in the Riverland now play in the same town as the footy teams. A1 and A2 play Friday nights, but surely they could play Saturdays for the games when they play Pinnaroo/Murrayville or whoever it might be.
The only problem it throws up is that it makes the RFL into a seven team comp, bringing unwanted byes.
Down&Out: I think Lameroo heading to RFL is more likely than RMFL. I think that if Karoonda do join Tailem Bend. Murrayville/ Pinnaroo seems a realistic merge if necessary (location wise).
You're my only friend, and you don't even like me.
But you would think that Murrayville have got the better end of the deal, if they can stop them wandering! 
Football 
