THE appointment of an area manager for Sunraysia by AFL Victoria has received a mixed reaction among the local football fraternity in the region.
I can understand the scepticism, given the lack of transparency in the appointment and how they have managed a number of other issues in recent months.
AFL Victoria has done itself no favours in its “closed shop” approach.
The handling of football development manager Trevor Ryan’s departure was a complete debacle and the appointment process of the new area manager hasn’t been much better.
It’s clear AFL Victoria has set sail on a different agenda, given the staff changes it has made around the state recently.
Last week regional general manager for AFL Central Murray, Sunraysia and Wimmera, Bruce Petering, became the latest casualty when his position was made redundant.
This followed a decision to also get rid of AFL Gippsland’s GM and a number of other regions’ football development managers late last year.
It is any organisation’s right to make structural and strategic changes but when you are the peak body of a community-based sporting organisation you need to communicate why these decisions have been made, otherwise you run the risk of creating an “us against them” situation, which is what has happened locally in Sunraysia.
AFL Victoria has lost the trust of the local football community and it will be up to the new area manager to win that back.
But in saying that, we need to take a deep breath and give this new bloke a go.
It’s unfair to pass judgement before we have even had the opportunity to get know him and what his vision for the region is.
Sunraysia Football Netball League president Paul Matheson’s approach is the right one.
Matheson is rightly cautious, but he is also giving a 100 per cent commitment – his board and clubs will do everything to help the new area manager in the role.
He’s taken this approach because his No.1 priority is growing football and netball in this region and ensuring we have a robust and sustainable club structure.
Sunraysia is like any other region: we have our issues and there is always room for improvement but, on the whole, footy and netball are pretty healthy in this part of the state.
Our clubs are financially stable, the league has a strong balance sheet and the competition has improved in recent years.
But that’s not to say we can’t get even better and, hopefully, our new area manager will play a pivotal role in helping us achieve that.
Let’s put what’s happened in the past aside, get behind him and give him a go.
