WHAT a week for local football and netball.
Last Tuesday we were in full planning mode for a July 25 start after the SFNL board announced the season was going ahead.
Then, on Thursday, doubt started to creep in on whether they might be forced to reverse their decision, with a majority of clubs saying they wouldn’t play.
The final nail in the coffin came on Friday night when Ouyen United contacted league president Paul Matheson to inform him they were officially withdrawing all sides from the 2020 competition.
The Kangas had initially said they would play if it was a six-team competition, but when South Mildura, Red Cliffs, Mildura and Wentworth followed Robinvale Euston’s earlier decision to pull out, it left just Irymple, Imperials and Merbein willing to play.
This rendered the season untenable and forced the board to back-flip on its decision.
As an advocate for going ahead with the season, I was as disappointed as anyone when I received a message last Saturday morning telling me the season was off.
For the next couple of hours I answered calls and responded to text messages from people wanting to share their opinion about the decision with me.
Some, like me, were disappointed, others happy there would be no footy and netball in 2020.
After speaking and listening to each of these individuals, it re-confirmed to me, there really wasn’t a right or wrong decision when it came to playing or not this season.
It was easy to mount a case either way and while the board has been widely criticised for their handling of things, it’s unfair to put the blame on them.
The SFNL board was put in place as an independent body to represent the clubs.
Under their charter they are required to put on a football and netball season if possible and that is what they decided to do given the information they had in front of them.
As far as I’m concerned, they acted in a responsible and professional manner.
Despite what some people might think, the board had no incentive to make the decision they did.
Had they voted initially to call the season off, they would still have faced criticism from the clubs who did want to play.
It’s the point I’m trying to make. They were really in a no-win situation when they sat down last Tuesday night to decide the fate of the 2020 season and because of that, no ill-feeling should felt towards them.
I’ve always been taught, it’s sometimes more difficult to admit you were wrong, even though in this instance I’m not saying the board were.
It takes courage to change your decision, particularly when you know it will be so publicly scrutinised, but that is what Paul Matheson and the other men and women on the SFNL board did when they were made aware of Ouyen United’s decision.
They didn’t wait to have another board meeting. They jumped on the phone, consulted each other and decided they needed to reverse the decision.
They did this because they believed it was in the best interest of football and netball in Sunraysia.
A decision, they knew would open themselves up to criticism, which they have copped on the chin.
We all need to remember the people on the SFNL board are volunteers and they do it because they feel a sense of responsibility and want to give something back to community sport.
I’m sure each of them has different reasons for why they put their hand up to be on the board, but ultimately they all have one thing in common – they want to help make football and netball better in this region.
For that, I say well done.
