In the next few weeks the trophies, shields and memorabilia from the Hagley Football Club will be loaded into a shipping container for storage.
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They represent 102 years of blood, sweat and tears, the hopes and aspirations of a small country town and the odd champagne stain to mark a premiership. Chances are that they may never be proudly displayed again in the quest for a flag.
For most of the stalwarts who have run the Hagley Football Club in recent years, the decision to go into recess was a relief.
That is the saddest thing about the decision.
Jack Heazelwood, Don Eyles, Lloyd Walker, Winston Bounday, Fred Mace and many others have put their lives into the club _ but times have changed.
There are not the locals to fill the teams any more and the retired players either aren't interested or too busy to go on the committee. Secretary for the past six years is 31-year-old full-forward Geoff Page, who has lived either next door to the Hagley Oval or just over the road all his life.
``It really is a sad day but it takes a lot of people and effort to run a club each season and there isn't anybody new putting their hands up,'' he said.
``The club isn't folding because it is in debt because we actually have a bank balance of $10,000.
``The overall feeling of the club is that it's just getting tougher and tougher and we don't want the club to get into debt.
``We were forced into the NTFA this season because the Esk-Deloraine folded but the NTFA is a city- based competition, which isn't really for us.''
Page said there might be more support for the re-formation of a Hagley team if it could be part of a new country football association.
The plight facing Hagley has already been felt by many clubs in the region.
Since the mid-1980s football clubs at Meander, Chudleigh, Elizabeth Town, Red Hills and Westbury have struggled and folded.
Cressy and the Tamar Cats have already had crisis meetings this year and their futures are uncertain. ``Unfortunately, the kids don't live in the country towns as much any more and the focus is on Launceston rather than the local communities,'' Page said.
``We are certainly concerned for the youth of the area if the mateship and support from the football team is missing.''
Page, the general manager of Page Transport, one of Tasmania's biggest transport companies, said economic strains on families and an abundance of different activities had also put the squeeze on country football clubs.
``If the people implementing the Biggs Report want to do something for Tasmanian football they need to address this issue and establish a clear pathway for young players.
``At the moment the game appears to be dying in the country areas, which have traditionally provided many of the State's best players,'' he said.
Hagley's most famous recruit is St Kilda's Matthew Young, who was originally recruited by Hawthorn after he played for Hagley in the 1991 Esk- Deloraine grand final.
Page said that country football had suffered from the emphasis and focus on the elite end of the sport and the dominance of the AFL.
``The basic role of country football clubs is to provide community sport for the youth of that region,'' Page said.
``If some of them go on to an NTFL club, a TFL club or an AFL club that's great, but if we don't have these country clubs any more where are the AFL stars going to come from.''
Page said there was some talk about the growth areas of Carrick and Hadspen trying to establish a football club and he said that the people of Hagley would be delighted to help keep the game alive.