EEndeavour Hills risks losing stars like Tim Finau after VRU president Gary Gray By Stuart Teather
ENDEAVOUR Hills Rugby Union Club will not play in the Premier One competition this season, despite efforts to meet all requirements to play in the division. It now risks losing many of its top players who want to play in the top competition.
Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) president Gary Gray told The News last month that Endeavour Hills could not play Premier One in 2009 because it could not field three senior teams, one of the criteria clubs were required to meet.
As a result, Endeavour Hills sought to establish a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with another club, Maroondah, where the two clubs would combine their resources to meet the criteria.
However, the VRU still blocked the club’s entry into the top league.
A disappointed Endeavour Hills president Ashley White said the VRU board met early last week.
“It took until the end of the week until they finally got around to communicating with us – they’ve decided not to accept our proposal,” he said.
White was frustrated that the VRU had not given a reason for rejecting the proposal.
“They’ve informed us officially, but with no explanation,” he said.
“In terms of the board’s decision and what is the basis for it, they haven’t been so kind as to inform us.
“We’re honest agents in this, in our opinion we don’t believe that the VRU are working in the best interests of the code.”
Gray confirmed that Endeavour Hills would not play in the top-flight competition in 2009.
“Not this year, no,” he said.
“The board decided last week that they felt, at this stage, in the best interests of both Endeavour Hills and the Union, that Endeavour Hills would be stronger in the second division.”
“It’s very hard to be subjective about whether a team will be strong enough or not.
“Based on the facts in front of them, the board made the decision that the best result for Endeavour Hills and Maroondah and the union was for them to this year be in second division.”
Gray said the VRU would work with Endeavour Hills to build the club back up to a suitable level to play Premier One and said he hoped it would happen within 12 months.
“I hope they strengthen things so much this year that it just becomes an obvious decision,” he said.
But White was less than satisfied with the reasons Gray presented.
“Their decision about moving Maroondah out of the B-grade competition – I don’t think they’re far wrong, there’s going to be a problem with the number of teams competing in the second division B-grade,” he said.
“There’ll be a limited number of clubs that will provide an A and a B team. It may end up being a four-team competition down in B-grade.
“I think the other concern is to say the club is not strong enough – we’ve got amongst the strongest junior development coming through.
“If you continue to put clubs like us down, what are we going to do with all these juniors that want to play? We’ll lose some of them.”
White expressed concern about losing many of the club’s top players to Premier One clubs and Gray said the board had considered the issue.
“We will be working so vigorously with them and assuring their players their commitment to Endeavour Hills is going to strengthen that club,” he said.
“I feel pretty confident that they’ll retain the great majority of players they want to retain.”
As for White, he is resigned to spending a year in the lower division.
“As the old saying goes – ‘it’s a bit hard to fight city hall’,” he said.
