Riverland Independent Football League club Cobdogla Eagles goes into recess for 12 months due to volunteer numbers

A 102-year-old Riverland football club will spend 2022 on the sidelines and is facing an uncertain future just months after breaking a huge losing streak.

A season of resurgence has turned into disappointment for a Riverland football club now facing an uncertain future.

The 102-year-old Cobdogla Football Club announced on Tuesday it would go into recess for 12 months due to a lack of volunteers.

The Eagles broke a 1064-day losing streak this season in the Riverland Independent Football League and returned to the finals for the first time in nine years.

But as quickly as its on-field fortunes turned around, the club affectionately known as Cobby has found itself in a precarious off-field position.

Cobdogla president Darrell Tilbrook said it became clear at the club’s annual general meeting on Sunday that the Eagles had no other option than withdraw from the 2022 season and attempt to rebuild.

Cobdogla Football Club players celebrate defeating Wunkar in their Riverland Independent Football League match on May 15, 2021. It was the Eagles' first win in 1064 days. Picture: Grant Schwartzkopff

“We had the same group of people come to the AGM, a couple of people stepped down from the committee and there was just not enough people to keep the committee and the club going,” Tilbrook said.

“Unfortunately you can’t run a football club with just a handful of people.

“We tried to bring in new blood but it just hasn’t happened.

“Personally, I’m very disappointed and I know everyone involved with the football club and all the players are very disappointed.”

The RIFL lost another club in March when Lyrup folded after 112 years.

Cobdogla enjoyed strong success earlier this century but became one of SA bush footy’s battlers in the past decade.

A hat-trick of flags between 2006-08 quickly became a distant memory when the Eagles went on a 55-game losing run between 2014 and 2018.

Cobdogla won five games this season and finished fourth on the ladder before it lost a semi-final to Wunkar. Picture: Grant Schwartzkopff

In May, they broke another winning drought of almost three years before going onto make the finals for the first time since 2012.

The RIFL was one of 12 football leagues across SA to cancel its 2020 season due to the Covid pandemic.

Tilbrook said no footy again in 2022 would be difficult for the town and was also uncertain what the future held for the Eagles.

“Honestly, I’m not sure at this stage,” Tilbrook said.

“We’ll get together and discuss our options again, put it out there and see if we can get any other people on board as well.

“(Next year) is going to be very strange to say the least.”

Action from the match between Cobdogla Football Club and Wunkar in the Riverland Independent Football League earlier this year. Picture: Grant Schwartzkopff

SANFL football operations co-ordinator for the region and former RFL president Shane Uren said volunteer numbers was an issue across all regional and community football clubs.

“We’re working pretty closely with all leagues looking at strategic plans, things to attract people back to footy clubs, trying to ease the burden and workload of volunteers and fixturing,” Uren said.

“Although it seems like doom and gloom, there’s always change in football.

“We just have to look at ways to keep things going in the smaller communities for as long as possible.”

A September survey by the Australian Sports Foundation into the impact of Covid on community sport found almost 42 per cent of clubs reporting a decline in volunteers following the pandemic.

Increased administrative burden, pressures and concerns about enforcing Covid protocols and impact on volunteers’ mental health were cited as key factors for the drop.