SA footy legend Rodney Maynard fears for repercussions of dying community football leagues

Rodney Maynard has played footy at the highest level but his passion has been at its grassroots. With his home league dissolving, he has concerns for the future of sport in rural areas.

Pleasure and pain: Maynard celebrates a premiership with the Lameroo Hawks and, inset, Maynard in action for the Adelaide Crows.

Inaugural Adelaide Crow and SA Football Hall of Fame member Rodney Maynard has warned about the potential mental health ramifications from the dissolution of the Mallee football and netball leagues.

Maynard, who won six Mail Medals and seven premierships with Lameroo, said he had hoped the leagues could continue a few more years.

“It is sad to see it dissolve so quickly, we thought we had another three to five years left - (Mallee clubs) had a meeting 18 months ago and that was the feeling all clubs had but it’s been turned upside down so quickly,” he said.

“I tell you, it would be a tough winter without sport down here mental health-wise and I’d hate to see what it would be like for the kids and farmers and that and their mental health ... a day out at the footy and netball for the farmers is so good for mental health, it’s so good for everything.”

Rodney Maynard celebrates a premiership win Lameroo in 2008.

He said it was a disappointing end to a “fantastic league”.

“Some people probably played their last game and didn’t even know it … at presentations a few footballers got up and said they didn’t know it was going to be the last game of the Lameroo Hawks.”

The Mallee football and netball leagues were forced to dissolve last week after four of its six teams defected as part of mergers or to join other leagues due to declining junior and volunteer numbers.

The beginning of the end of the competition started with the league’s most successful club Border Downs Tintinara announcing a merger with River Murray side Meningie - combining to become the Coorong Cats and compete in the River Murray from 2023.

Murrayville were the next to leave and join the Murray Valley Football Netball League, formerly known as the Riverland Independent league.

Former Crows star Rodney Maynard on his farm property at Lameroo in 2004.

In the final blow, Karoonda and Peake announced they were joining forces and set to apply to compete in the River Murray.

The remaining two clubs, Maynard’s Lameroo and Pinnaroo, were left in the wilderness and are now engaging in community consultation to form a direction for the two clubs.

Maynard. the league’s most decorated player, remained positive about the future of sport in the region and said work was being done behind the scenes to ensure football and netball was played in his community.

“It won’t be the last game of football played at Lameroo, I’m sure of it.”

Lameroo and Pinnaroo are both engaging in community consultation processes with the likely outcome seeing the two clubs merge to participate in the River Murray or Riverland football leagues.

“We have a lot of work to do and there is a lot of water to go under the bridge, but hopefully people can get behind and support a new era for Lameroo and Pinnaroo,” Maynard said.

Lameroo Football Club members Patrick O'Driscoll with Craig Zerk, Mark Trowbridge, Peter Byrne, Lynton Barrett, Rodney Maynard and Wayne Barrett participated in charity walk to raise funds for Bali bombing victims in the early 2000s. Picture: File.

‘We had no choice but to go’

While the demise of the Mallee Football League has been a kick in the guts for some clubs and players, exiting clubs had no choice but to act in order to keep sport alive in the region, according to club leaders.

Karoonda Netball Club president Caroline Phillips - who is also the Karoonda East Murray Council Mayor - said the decision to combine with Peake and apply to join the River Murray was made to ensure football in the region for years to come.

The Karoonda A grade netball side won the premiership in 2022. Picture: Facebook

“We made the decision to act and it wasn’t a decision we came to lightly,” she said.

“Our netball club had a crisis meeting at the end of 2020 about declining numbers and we’ve been in discussions with a number of clubs (about merging).

“But our number one priority was keeping sports played in Karoonda for our juniors.”

Phillips said the two clubs were committed to making sure the new union would be a success and community consultation would begin soon regarding a new brand for the new club.

“Everything is on the table at the moment,” she said.

“Mallee Fowls was mentioned … colours pink and black have even been talked about but in the end, whatever we are, it is all about the sustainability of sport in the region.”

Mallee’s loss is River Murray’s gain

The River Murray Football League looks set to be bigger and stronger from 2023, with more teams competing and more players than ever before.

The Border Downs Tintinara Crows and the Meningie Bears have merged to become the Coorong Cats. Picture: Facebook.

River Murray Football league president Michelle Hill said the league was already abuzz with the new entity of the Coorong Cats replacing Meningie and the association was in discussions to expand its number of teams.

RMFL executives met with the Karoonda-Peake combination on Thursday, September 29, to discuss their application to the competition and said the league would be “accommodating and welcoming”.

“We don’t want to see no football in the Mallee - if we can have combined teams from the former Mallee come in and play, we want to help that community,” she said.

Hill said if Pinnaroo and Lameroo were to apply to join the league, the River Murray would consider the application with the same welcoming mentality.

Hill said scheduling a program for an eight or-nine team league would be preferable to the current seven-team, 19-round season with three byes for each club.

“With eight we don’t need a bye which is great and with nine we only have to have two byes and two full rounds instead of the three-and-a-half we have now.”

The RMFL has had seven teams since Murray Bridge Redlegs folded in 2005 and Hill said the league has been on the hunt for another club for decades.

In its heyday, the RMFL had nine teams with Border Downs-Tintinara Football Club competing in the RMFL until 2001 and before that, Nairne-Bremer participated until 1997.

Start-up league getting ready to go

The new Murray Valley Football Netball League will be the destination for the Murrayville Bulldogs.

In March, the SANFL Community Football Commission announced the Riverland Football League and Riverland Independent Football League would split into two separate entities for the 2023 season.

The split saw the formation of the Murray Valley Football Netball League which is currently on the hunt for its new board to control league operations.

SANFL Riverland, Murray and Mallee coordinator Shane Uren told The Messenger the clubs in the independent league – Blanchetown Swan Reach, Paringa, Ramco, Brown’s Well, Sedan Cambrai and Wunkar – would all benefit greatly from a split from the RFL, with a dedicated board to oversee the league.

Murrayville announced they voted to participate in the new league following the uncertainty in the Mallee league with a number of member clubs leaving.

“(The club) voted in favour of pursuing a future for our club in the new Murray Valley Football/Netball League,” the statement said.

“They have been very welcoming and have great ideas for the future - giving us the chance to extend the life of our club and continue to have matches played in Murrayville. We look forward to joining them in season 2023.”