EDFL dumps junior transfers

By Paul Pickering
ELLINBANK and District Football League officials have torn up a controversial transfer agreement that they say left local junior players open to exploitation.
EDFL president Roger Gwynne last month told the Gazette (24 June) that St Kilda City Junior Football Club had offered local teenagers money to play in a suburban league on Sundays, describing the arrangement as ‘disgraceful’.
Last Wednesday, EDFL club delegates voted to ratify the league’s decision to scrap its ‘area agreement’ with the Moorabbin Saints Junior Football League, thereby prohibiting player movement between the two competitions.
Ten of the 14 EDFL clubs voted in support of the decision at the monthly delegates’ meeting, with Nyora and Longwarry providing the opposition and two clubs choosing not to vote.
In a further twist, Nyora forfeited its thirds (under-18) clash against Nar Nar Goon on Saturday, claiming that the club could not field a team without a handful of regular fill-in players that it had been receiving from St Kilda City.
Gwynne, who was at the ground, said he was ‘disappointed’ that Nyora officials had left it until 20 minutes before the opening bounce to notify their opponents of the decision to forfeit.
“That’s their prerogative I suppose, but I don’t like the way they went about it,” he said.
“(Waiting until) 20 minutes before the game is pretty ordinary. The umpires were there and everything, so they (Nyora) will be charged for the umpires (match fees).”
Nyora president Tim Fowles dismissed suggestions that the forfeit was a form of protest, adding that the timing was unavoidable.
“We had to wait and see what sort of numbers we could get there,” he said.
“We’re hoping that we can field a side this week.”