AFL slams local league

Berwick junior footballers such as, from left, Mitch Burgess, Tom West and Hayden McLardy, could have an official pathway to senior level if former AFL Victoria operations manager David Code’s recommendations for the Dandenong and District Junior Football League go ahead. 22113 Picture: Stewart Chambers

By Marc McGowan and Paul Pickering
AFL Victoria officials’ proposed takeover of the Dandenong and District Junior Football League (DDJFL) could result in an increase in clubs in the Cardinia region.
A damning 33-page review of the league found that DDJFL management had ‘no strategic plan’ and ‘no objectives to guide the direction of the DDJFL’.
The bombshell follows AFL Victoria officials’ decision to fine DDJFL management last year for not reaching the minimum standard in the governing body’s quality management program.
Independent consultant David Code advocated the appointment of a project manager from AFL Victoria to ensure the recommendations in the review are implemented.
DDJFL general manager Anne-Marie Brown declined to comment on the review before last night’s meeting to decide the league’s direction at DDJFL’s Dandenong headquarters.
AFL Victoria development and planning manager Mick Daniher said the report was ‘very direct and forthright’ in documenting the issues that needed to be addressed.
“The report is all about providing support to the DDJFL and its clubs in the areas of governance and management,” he said.
“There are areas in Greater Dandenong with very diverse multicultural groups where participation has been declining that needs support.
“Then, on the other side, you have the growth areas of Casey and Cardinia where equally some clubs are having so much growth they are forced to put caps on teams.
“We need to do a better job overall of the way we plan the development of the game throughout these municipalities.”
The three Cardinia-based DDJFL clubs – Beaconsfield, Officer Kangaroos and Pakenham – make up 20 per cent of the competition’s teams.
The 12 Casey clubs comprise 71 per cent of the sides.
Both municipalities are expected to experience exponential growth in the coming years and Code said the development of new clubs was a must.
Code recommended that the league name should now include ‘reference to Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia’.
He also suggested the DDJFL becomes the junior partner of the Casey-Cardinia league and for MPNFL officials to manage the competition.
MPNFL operations manager Ian Benson said he was aware of the review and was interviewed as part of the process.
“The whole demographic of the league has changed (towards Casey-Cardinia clubs), so I think it’s appropriate that the league moves with the times (and changes its name and headquarters),” he said.
Benson also said that MPNFL officials support the Victorian Country Football League’s policy to try and create centralised administration.
The need for change was evident in the response from club officials this week.
Berwick Junior Football Club president Andrew Young said he would vote in favour of adopting AFL Victoria’s recommendations, but he also sympathised with the league’s current management.
“There are some good people there and they’ve tried to do their best, but the league and the clubs have grown so quickly that they just need to be helped out a bit,” Young said.
Pakenham Lions Junior Football Club president Steve Moloney is another who believes the league has outgrown its management structure.
Moloney lamented the lack of communication between DDJFL officials and the clubs and parents, particularly in reference to last-minute fixture changes.
He admitted to having concerns about the recruitment of volunteers if the current state of confusion continued.
“My personal view is that if we can put in place a process that will streamline things and make life easier for the volunteers, that can only be a good thing,” he said.
Moloney said his club would not oppose Code’s recommendation to establish more clubs in the Cardinia region.
Meanwhile, there seems to be a consensus among the clubs that stronger alignment to the MPNFL’s Casey-Cardinia league is a logical step.
Young said the move could foster improved relationships between junior and senior clubs, but the shift needn’t extend to a new league name.
“I don’t really want a name change, because I think there is a lot of history in the DDJFL,” he explained.
“You don’t want to lose the history of your name at this point in time.”