By Nick Creely
Southern Football League (SFNL) Division 2 reigning premiers, Doveton Eagles have put in an official request to be re-positioned out of Division 1 in 2020, with the club continuing to battle through a rough time in its history.
The SFNL board held its January meeting on 20 January and received the request from the club to make a move out of the competition’s top-flight this season, and will now hold a club presidents meeting on 5 February at RSEA Park in Moorabbin to discuss the request with member clubs and get an input before a final decision is made.
It’s been a sensational period from an on-field perspective in the club’s history over the past few seasons, with the Eagles incredibly clinching the Division 2 premiership in 2019 in its second season – including a grand final appearance in 2018 – in that division after also winning the Division 3 grand final in 2017.
But the Eagles have endured its fair share of struggles since the 2019 grand final glory in Division 2, and after a mass exodus of premiership players indicated to the league that they would not be able to field a competitive Division 1 side.
The Eagles will also hold an extraordinary meeting at the club on 29 January, in which the election of a new president and treasurer will be on the agenda. It is expected both roles will be filled immediately.
Southern Football Netball League chief executive officer Lee Hartman told Star News Group that there was still a fair bit to play out, but was committed to helping the club – who is celebrating its 40th year this season.
“They’re celebrating their 40th year, so it’s very important and that’s why we’re bringing our club presidents in, they have been successful, and at the same time we don’t want to see clubs shutting the doors,” he said.
“As an industry we need to make sure clubs survive and be viable, and that’s part of the re-positioning request.”
Hartman said that keeping the Eagles in Division 1 could be detrimental to the club’s future
“They’re pretty much going to rebuild from scratch, so remaining in Division 1 – which is the pinnacle of our league – and potentially having a team that could be belted each week wouldn’t be good and could force them to close the doors,” he said.
“We definitely don’t want to have byes or anything like that, but we’ll bring the clubs in and then make a final decision, and although a request has come in, nothing has been decided as of yet.”
