By DAVID NAGEL AND RUSSELL BENNETT
CASEY Cardinia Football League may have a ready-made replacement for Keysborough after news the Warragul Football Netball Club is considering a move from the Gippsland League.
Warragul last week sent a written request to the AFL Gippsland Commission – the body overseeing the Gippsland League – seeking permission to start talks with the CCFL.
PCN Sports Alliance, which operates the CCFL, received the request from the AFL Gippsland Commission and has written back, indicating its interest in beginning talks. Warragul’s first step follows the Keysborough Football Club’s decision to leave the CCFL and look at its options in either the Victorian Amateur Football Association or the Southern Football League.
AFL Vic Country rules stipulate that clubs considering holding discussions about the move to another league must have an application submitted prior to 31 July.
Any subsequent application to actually change leagues must be submitted by 31 October.
Region general manager of the AFL South East Commission – which oversees the CCFL – Jeremy Bourke, said clubs were taking their destiny in their own hands.
“People are becoming restless, they’re looking at their options and making decisions that are best for their clubs,” Bourke said.
Warragul Football Club president Vin Walkinshaw explained his club was now in a holding pattern.
“We’re hamstrung until we hear back from AFL Gippsland,” he said.
Once Warragul’s discussions with the CCFL are complete, the ultimate decision on the club’s future will be made jointly by the Gippsland and South East Commissions. If the two parties can’t agree, AFL Vic Country will make the final call.
