Cranbourne and the ‘big boys’

IT IS time for Cranbourne Football Club to face facts – Casey Council does not want the club playing on its showcase Oval One at Casey Fields.
The only truly community-orientated Australian Rules football club in the town has to accept the fact that it is viewed as a second-class citizen by shire movers and shakers who are committed to offering the pristine sports facility to those at the big end of town.
Why else would the loyal and hard-working Cranbourne committee have to lug all their gear to the ground (including any memorabilia or advertising items) before every home game and then pack it up and remove it before anyone from those lauded by the council, that being the Scorpions and Melbourne Football Clubs, grace the venue?
First Casey Council greased the way for the VFL Springvale Scorpions to become the Casey Scorpions.
The club’s general manager, Brian Woodman, has since spruiked that the Scorpions are the ‘local’ football club, but everyone knows that they are just Springvale relocated and have no affiliation with the district or its football whatsoever.
Sure there are local lads playing in the Scorpions’ reserves, but take a quick look at how many locally bred players are on the Frankston Dolphins or even Northern Bullants’ lists.
Now the council is bending over backwards to keep the AFL’s poorest relations, Melbourne, happy at the venue in the hope of becoming a big-time player in the football world.
That is despite the Demons having absolutely no historical affiliation or affinity with the Cranbourne community and being the antipathy of the working-class persona.
Melbourne is however happy there and even though it only trains there, has full use of all the facilities.
That is a luxury that Cranbourne can only dream of. It’s the ‘away rooms’ or nothing for them.
So where does that leave Cranbourne – the only true local club in the town?
It leaves them on ovals two or three, that’s where.
A pre-season deputation to mayor Geoff Ablett was well received, but Ablett is a good football man and, after all, he is only the mayor.
The feedback to the club received a few days later suggested that there was every chance that it would have to use ovals two or three in the near future.
So what to do from here?
As much as it grates on what is right and fair, Cranbourne has to accept its lot and start planning to have some of the massive funds being tipped into the precinct redirected to build decent rooms and change facilities at one of the outer ovals, together with fencing and all the infrastructure required to create a new home base. It could include parking around the ground and would be exclusive to the Cranbourne Football and Netball Club.
That way the shire executives can rid themselves of the hassle created by the pesky ‘local’ club wanting to use their elite facility.
They will never have to again deal with the riff-raff and can happily sit in the grandstand balcony sipping their Pimms and cognac and continue fawning to the cravat-wearing big-ticket blow-ins they have lured to the place.
Everyone will be happy then.