By RUSSELL BENNETT
SIX legendary local footy stalwarts with nearly 300 combined years of experience in the game have put their heads together to come up with their own solution to the AFL Gippsland riddle.
Leigh Greening, Gary O’Hehir, Tom Cleary, Gary Payne, Peter Smith and Stan Young are the brains trust behind two ideas to modify AFL Gippsland’s recent review draft recommendations.
From next year onwards the senior footy landscape across Gippsland is set to look vastly different.
AFL Gippsland recently released the Gippsland Senior Football Leagues review draft recommendations after an independent committee presented its findings to the region’s football and netball leagues and clubs.
The biggest change is the return of the West Gippsland league, with structural changes to the Alberton and Ellinbank competitions – Ellinbank and District Football League (EDFL) and Ellinbank and District Netball Association (EDNA – also taking place.
West Gippsland is set to be re-formed as a nine-team competition featuring Bunyip, Cora Lynn, Garfield, Kooweerup, Nar Nar Goon, Dalyston, Kilcunda-Bass, Korumburra-Bena and Phillip Island. Some reports also have Inverloch-Kongwak strongly interested in a move from the Alberton league. and Wonthaggi from the Gippsland League.
The EDFL would become a nine-team competition featuring Buln Buln, Catani, Ellinbank, Lang Lang, Longwarry, Neerim Neerim South, Nilma Darnum, Poowong and the Warragul Industrials; with Nyora set to play in the Alberton league.
The Saints have already come out in staunch opposition of the plan, which would separate them from traditional rivals Poowong.
But under the six stalwarts’ preferred plan, both Nyora and Poowong would become Alberton sides – with Inverloch shifted to West Gippsland. That would leave Mid-Gippsland and West Gippsland with 10 sides each, Alberton with nine, and the EDFL with eight.
“We’ve got six blokes in on this, and I could get more if I wanted to,” Greening told the Gazette.
“We’re not involved directly on the committees of any footy clubs – this is our own collective thoughts.”
Greening is a former vice president of the EDFL, and is a life member, past player and former secretary at Bunyip but he’s adamant this plan is that of six individuals – not clubs.
“We all understand there’s an issue, and the commission has had a go (at fixing it) – there’s no problems about that – but along the line all they’ve wanted to do is get rid of the ‘big five’ – Bunyip, Cora Lynn, Garfield, Kooweerup and Nar Nar Goon – from the EDFL and they’ve succeeded,” Greening said.
“We know we’re going to be travelling further and we know we’re going to be playing a better standard of footy.
“We’re quite happy to accept it but Ellinbank just wants everything their way.
“Don’t get me wrong – I’ve read the AFL Gippsland report, and I acknowledge they’ve done a very good, in-depth analysis of it.
“But with Mid Gippsland being such a good, happy, 10-side competition …
all they’ve done is get rid of the big five in Ellinbank.
“What we’re strongly saying is that, okay Nyora and Poowong want to keep their rivalry just like Bunyip and Garfield.
“Bunyip and Garfield didn’t play against each other for 20 years or more, and now we all acknowledge that no matter where Garfield plays Bunyip has to be with them.
“If Alberton is going to be left with seven sides (if Inverloch moved to West Gippsland), the logical thing is having those two sides in there to make it a nine-team competition and that leaves the Ellinbank league with eight.
“Two years ago they were happy with that, so let them be happy – give them eight sides.”
According to Greening, the over-riding theory behind their plan is to have better parity amongst all Gippsland leagues. Of all the leagues in the review, the one identified to be the most problematic was Ellinbank.
“The immediate concern is that the commission has to fix this straight away,” he said.
“If they’re going to put Inverloch in West Gippsland – which we think they should – Ellinbank and District must be eight sides because you can’t have Alberton with seven.”
Under a more radical, secondary plan from the stalwarts, Nyora and Poowong would stay in Ellinbank, Mirboo North and Boolarra would join the Alberton league and Ellinbank and Nilma Darnum would head to Mid Gippsland.
“Geographically, Mirboo North and Boolarra are closer to Alberton than Nyora and Poowong,” Greening said.
“(Whereas) Ellinbank is close enough to Thorpdale, and Nilma Darnum.
“If that happened straight away you’d get away from that old stigma of the Ellinbank and District Football League and call it the Warragul and District Football League to coincide with the juniors.
“It just makes sense.
“Is the commission willing to make the hard decisions?”
