East, West… end of the world?

By RUSSELL BENNETT

UNSURPRISINGLY, opinion amongst the Ellinbank league’s 15 teams is largely divided about the switch back to a one-tier competition.
And, as expected, it’s essentially divided across east-west lines.
Neerim Neerim South president Glenn Flowers admits he’s one of the more outspoken critics of the move back to a single-division competition.
“It spells a bit of danger for clubs like ours,” he said.
“There’s nothing behind Neerim South so we need to strongly rely on our juniors.
“When we played off in a grand final in 2011, 17 of those players came through our juniors.
“But a year after that a heap of them got pilfered.
“Players are shifting away from the area because there’s really no work here or in Warragul.
“Ellinbank, Nilma Darnum, the Dusties, Buln Buln and ourselves – we’re all chasing after the same players from the same town.
“I’ve got nothing against the West clubs but I think an eight to 10 team competition is just fairer.”
Flowers said having 15 clubs back in the same, single competition was “bordering on ridiculous”, adding the western clubs “had a very good football league of their own in West Gippsland and what happened to that?”
Flowers said he was “extremely happy” with the league’s current situation – eight teams out east.
“This 15-team competition could just go back for a year anyway before a restructure in 2016,” he said.
“What’s the point of that?
“There are plenty of clubs out east that are extremely disappointed with this move.
“They fear for their longevity.”
But Flowers said he could also see some positives for the return of the 15-team competition.
“It’ll produce a better standard of football – it’s great to play the likes of Garfield and Cora Lynn from a football standard point of view.
“It’s not all doom and gloom but the negatives (of the switch back) outweigh the positives as far as I’m concerned.
“Neerim South has always encouraged its players to play at the highest level they can – and this will be a higher standard of football – but we also have to give them hope of playing finals.
“It’s not the end of the world – it’s only a game – but we just want a level playing field.”
Bunyip president Darrell Wilkinson, however, praised the move wholeheartedly.
“I definitely think it’s a move for the better,” he said.
“Players didn’t enjoy playing each other three times and having all those byes.
“We had five weeks off and that was starting before the East and finishing after them.
“It wasn’t good.”
Wilkinson added that his club had lost sponsors from the eastern side of the league because the Bulldogs hadn’t been able to play in front of them.
He also pointed out that the neighbouring Longwarry and Bunyip hadn’t yet had the chance to play off for the Hayden-Berryman Cup, with the sides in separate divisions this year.
“I know that trying to sell three byes and five weeks off to players affected our recruiting, too,” he said, adding that the situation in the West in 2014 negatively affected the gate takings in games between his Bulldogs and traditional rivals, Garfield.