Shock as junior league disbands

The Midlands Junior Football League has disbanded on the eve of the upcoming 2013 home and away season. The league and clubs met with representatives from WorkSafe AFL Victoria Country on Tuesday night and has accepted its recommendations. The decision was made to assist and to define better pathways and transitions for young players into senior football at their local clubs.
The league comprised of 12 teams from Castlemaine and Kyneton regions. A key recommendation was that players without senior club affiliation already, including West End, Winters Flat and Wesley Hill, send their junior players to play for Castlemaine, and North Kyneton, South Kyneton and Malmsbury to play for Kyneton. Both senior clubs will enter junior teams in the Under 10s and 12s competition in the Bendigo Junior Football League while an official Under 12 competition will be formed in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football League.
"The acceptance of the recommendations should assist local clubs with retention of their junior players as they progress through to senior football," WorkSafe AFL Vic Country area manager, Bruce Petering, said.
The aftermath
The decision has shocked the Castlemaine and Kyneton communities. Clubs including Malmsbury, Tylden, South Kyneton, North Kyneton, West End, Winters Flat and Wesley Hill have been forced to decide between the option of joining another league or to end their club history and send their junior players to senior clubs. The reactions have been mixed as clubs work with parents to determine what is the best option for their children.
The MDJFL formed last year, combining the Castlemaine and Kyneton District junior football leagues. The competition went through some teething problems but overall, was a success. Numbers were down in several teams heading towards this season but the majority of the clubs appeared to be happy with the direction of the competition. Several clubs held a meeting two to three weeks ago to voice their concerns and this was the first sign of instability in the league. The general consensus from the board and clubs was that the competition could not run at full capacity if it were to continue this season and it would be inevitable that the league would have to disband at the end of the season. It was a tough time for club and league members to reach a compromise.
"Friends were lost and made through this but the thing that has been forgotten is having a football competition for the kids," current Midlands Junior Football League president, Paul Tobin said.
"It is a disappointing decision but now we have to work hard to have a game of footy for our kids."
Tobin said that one positive from Tuesday night's meeting was that plans were immediately put in place by AFL Vic Country to assist clubs in assessing their short-term future. The MDJFL has backed the decision made by the AFL. For more about how your club will be affected, see Tuesday's Midland Express.