By Marcus Uhe
Emerald’s A Grade netball side is staring down the barrel of being consigned to life in Outer East Football Netball (OEFN) Division One in 2025 while fighting for – and maybe even winning – a premiership in Premier Division in September.
It’s one of the quirky consequences of the OEFN’s announcement last week detailing how the football and netball programs will be shaped in 2025.
Premier Division football and netball will revert to a 10-team competition, as announced in April, despite the departure of two clubs.
With both Narre Warren and Berwick Springs granted approval by the OEFN Board to move their football and netball programs to the Southern Football Netball League (SNFL), OEFN announced last week that the club whose senior football team finishes in last place on the Premier Division football ladder will be relegated to Division One in 2025, with the club that wins the senior football premiership in Division One, promoted.
Narre Warren and Berwick Springs have been excluded from the permutations, given their transfers, leaving Emerald, Gembrook Cockatoo and Pakenham as the most vulnerable in the run home.
Berwick Springs is currently last on eight points, followed by Emerald on 12, and Gembrook Cockatoo and Pakenham tied on 16.
The consequences will add further fuel to the staunch rivalry between Gembrook Cockatoo and Emerald, with the two set to square-off with their futures in Premier Division effectively at stake on Saturday afternoon, in what some have colloquially dubbed “the relegation cup”.
Emerald’s A Grade netballers, however, are currently sixth on the ladder, two games clear of seventh and will face four sides in the bottom half of the ladder in its run home, likely sealing a position in the top six.
The Bombers’ netball coordinator, Sarah Bertram, described the club’s predicament as a “tricky situation”.
Where the Bombers’ netballers are shaping to be innocent victims of the football club’s struggles in 2024, they more than earned their place in netball’s Premier Division on the back of an A Grade Division One premiership in 2023, despite a promotion by default on the back of the senior football premiership.
Bertram fears for the club’s ability to recruit and retain players if they suffer the dreaded demotion, given the extra travel demands that will be imposed.
The looming threat of trips to Powelltown, Alexandra and Yea will add significant burdens in 2025 for whichever team is relegated.
“We, being a ‘Hills’ club, do struggle getting players,” Bertram said.
“I think most of the ‘Hills’ clubs are in a very similar situation compared to the clubs down the hill.
“You’re less likely to recruit those players that are already down the hill.
“We’ve got a few players already from down the hill that come up, but I’m not sure how they would feel about travelling even further out for games every Saturday.
“It’s always been that the netballers follow the footballers, but having our A graders doing so well last year and then this year being a chance of definitely making finals again, it is hard to then, as netballers, move forward.”
Not only will the logistical requirements prove a sticking point, but on paper the Bombers will shape up as a class above what Division One’s best can offer.
Bertram conceded that it may be time for a new model of administration to be considered, to better accommodate netball clubs.
“You see it even with the Premier Division as well, that it goes in the opposite way – there’s definitely stronger netball teams out there where their football isn’t as strong,” she said.
“Last year we were pretty even; our boys won the competition and the girls won the competition.
“This year it’s been a lot tougher being up in Premier, and I’m sure Outer East have looked at different ways of trying to make it fairer.
“Last year we had three netball teams in the finals and this year we will (fingers crossed) have our A Grade girls and possibly D Grade girls, but for our C Grade and D Grade teams it’s been a bit tougher.”
She is hoping that the footballers can live up to their end of the bargain, and ensure that the hypothetical does not amount to anything more than that.
“It would be really nice (to stay in Premier Division) but it is what it is,” she said.
“The rules have been set by the league like this for such a long time that we are used to it.
“We did think that with a couple of Premier Division teams leaving the league that it might change it and (OEFN) wouldn’t have to relegate a team, but they’re still running with that.”
Emerald has a slightly more favourable football fixture in the final three weeks beyond Saturday’s clash than the Brookers, facing two sides they have beaten already in 2024 in Upwey Tecoma (away) and Berwick Springs (home), sandwiched between a tough task against Woori Yallock.
In 2023, the Bombers played one of the more significant games in the club’s history against Berwick Springs in the Division One grand final, but the stakes will be just as high when the two meet in the final round this year.
Further to the promotion and relegation announcement, OEFN moved to clarify elements of the competition’s future.
The poorly kept secret that Pakenham was exploring its options as to where to play its football and netball was confirmed, but with no transfer submitted, both the football and netball clubs will remain under the OEFN banner in 2025, barring notification of otherwise from AFL Victoria before October 31.
Broadford Football Netball Club, however, has been granted approval to pursue a transfer to another competition, despite the football club being in recess.
As previously stated, Narre Warren and Berwick Springs received approval to join the SFNL, with the OEFN Board offering the two clubs its best wishes.
“The Board will not appeal the transfers of Narre Warren FNC or Berwick Springs FNC via AFL Victoria, instead focusing on the remainder of the 2024 Home and Away Season and the exciting Junior, Women’s Football and Senior Football and Open Netball finals, as well as Medal Nights capping off a positive year,” the statement read.
“The Board wish both Narre Warren FNC and Berwick Springs FNC every success in the future.”
Alterations are ahead for junior football too, in an effort to grow a “sustainable pathway” for girls into the OEFN’s senior women’s football program.
Girls football will move from even numbered age groups (under 10s, 12s, 14s, 16s) in 2024 to odd numbered (under 11s, 13s, 15s, 17s) in 2025, with the inclusion of a “non-competitive” age group, before reverting back to even numbers in 2026, when an under-18 division will be added for senior football.
Mixed age groups (Under 9s, 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, 14s) will remain the same as 2024 for the next two years, while a separate under-14 competition for junior boys will be added in 2025.
The under-18 competition will be the third grade of senior football in 2025, replacing under 19.
Both under-18 and under-19 were available in 2024, but OEFN Chief Executive Brett Connell said the decision was based on numbers.
“We had an under 18s and under 19s and tried to patch something together (this year),” Connell said on the OEFN Football Netball Show.
“We’ve made the decision, based on numbers, that it will be an under-18 competition next year.
“We’ll have steady flow through our in our boys competition, and in 2026 we’ll have an under 18 girls and under 18 boys playing in a senior program for our clubs.
“That’s our potential, that’s our pathway and that’s where we want to land.”
Both competitions had six teams in 2024.
