North East Football Union president Kirk Wagner has hit back at the NTFA’s decision to include Bridport and East Coast Swans in their division 2 roster from next season effectively leaving Winnaleah and Scottsdale Crows without a competition.
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Wagner has disputed the NTFA’s claim that all four NEFU clubs were given the opportunity to join the association claiming the NEFU were presented with four options by the NTFA earlier this year.
“Option 1 was for the NEFU to stay as it was as a four-team competition,” Wagner said.
“Option 2 was for all four NEFU clubs to join the NTFA for 2017 which was automatically rejected by their board so that wasn’t even an option.
“Option 3 was for one team out of the East Coast and one from the North-East to join the NTFA and option 4 was for two teams out of the North-East and one from the East Coast and the teams out of the North-East could be merged identities or separate identities.”
Wagner said the NEFU clubs were given a month to work that out among themselves what they were going to do but a request that option 2 be put back on the table was rejected by the NTFA board.
“They believed there were not enough numbers in the North-East to sustain the four teams,” he said.
“They gave a new deadline for which clubs were going to fold and which were going to apply to join the NTFA and at that stage St Helens and Bridport made it quite clear that they were applying and felt they were strong enough to go it on their own.
“We only had three weeks from when we got their letter saying option 2 was off the table until the deadline and that was not enough time for Winnaleah and the Crows to have a conversation on merging or which club would fold and which would go.”
He said that left the remaining two NEFU clubs with no where to go.
“The NTFA did not want all four clubs applying because they did not want to make the decision on which clubs were going to get in and which ones were going to fold,” he said.
“So really Winnaleah and the Scottsdale Crows were not able to apply.”
Wagner said the NTFA had given an assurance last year and earlier this season that they would not accept any club from the NEFU that was to the detriment of the competition while the NEFU continued to exist.
“These two clubs (Winnaleah and Scottsdale Crows) had nowhere to go and they are still in the NEFU but the NTFA have taken two clubs out which will cause the fall over of the NEFU,” he said.
The NEFU were scheduled to meet with AFL Tasmania on Thursday night to discuss future options for junior players in the region and anticipated that the discussion would also include the future of senior football.
“At the start of this season all four NEFU clubs put in writing that they were committed to the competition for the 2017 season with under 16s, reserves and seniors.
“But Bridport and East Coast Swans believe their players do not want to play in the NEFU anymore.
“That leaves Winnaleah and Scottsdale Crows in limbo with senior footy and there is no guarantee our under 16 footballers will be able to play in the NTJFA because of the travelling distances.
“We’ve got kids that travel as far as Gladstone and if they have to be at Deloraine for an 8.30am game in the middle of winter – it’s not practicable.
“At the moment we have upwards of 150 people who have nowhere to play football across all grades between Winnaleah and the Scottsdale Crows and they have no choice now but to play social matches or fold.”
NTFA president Ian Morrison was contacted but declined to comment.