Shepparton Swans and Rochester Tigers prepare for round one

While some country footy clubs will head into recess for 2023, two that were heavily impacted by flooding are surging ahead in their recoveries.

The thought of not playing football and netball this season never crossed the minds of the Shepparton Swans or Rochester Tigers despite floods impacting both clubs late last year.

Both are now storming ahead to round one despite unresolved issues.

The Goulburn Valley League sides were impacted by significant rainfall and flooding which devastated the region.

The Swans and the Tigers suffered significant damage to their ovals and clubs facilities including change rooms, toilets and canteens.

Shepparton was worse off with almost everything destroyed.

Meanwhile Rochester only received damage to the netball courts and its football oval pavilion.

An overhead view of Princes Park, the home of the Shepparton Swans, during the floods last year. Picture: Ty Sutherland.

Their stories are a contrast to Ovens and Murray league outfit Corowa-Rutherglen which looks set to enter recess for the 2023 season.

The Roos were also flood effect with the entire changerooms and oval under water.

For the Swans they will fight on despite not having facilities at their disposal.

“We understand it’s probably going to be at least two seasons just working out of temporary facilities and making the most of what we can do down there,” Swans president Jarrod Sutherland said.

“It’s not going to be an overnight fix that is for sure.”

The AFL has provided $30,000 to the club for the temporary facilities.

Greater Shepparton City Council has also provided assistance to set up a canteen for the season and to re-sow the oval, which was damaged beyond repair.

The netball courts are also set to be resurfaced in the coming weeks to make sure it is ready for round one.

“Our clubs looking pretty good on and off the field,” Sutherland said.

“We’re a strong club and we’ve got good numbers in netball and football. We’ve recruited really well — getting all our local players back.

“We’re looking all right but there is a lot of uncertainty in terms of the council not committing to fix or build new rooms.

“That is where we at, at the moment.”

The council in 2019 revealed plans to upgrade the ground at Princes Park, with a dog park, lighting, and an improvement in the facilities at the venue.

The lights and the dog park have been fixed but nothing has been finalised with the facilities.

Sutherland said now was the time to sort it out.

“The facilities are the main concern for us as a club,” he said.

“There’s been a master plan in place for 10 years, developed by the council in conjunction with user groups.

“The next step on that list was new club rooms, new facilities. It’s a community facility, so it’s not just a footy club, it’s a cricket club, a runners club and netball.

“The council has been using it for some time and all of a sudden we find they are starting to change their mind.

“The plan actually incorporated a flood proof facility anyway, it was on a mound, so it wouldn’t have been flooded and it won’t get flooded in the future.

“We are thankful to the council what they have done in terms of getting the ground back up and running and assistance with the temporary stuff.

“We just need them to commit and commit to what they already had planned.”

Former North Melbourne player Jamie Macmillan has joined Shepparton Swans this year in a boost to the club. Photo by Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Sutherland said it was a stalemate at the moment.

Greater Shepparton Council said it was working with all key players for a resolution.

“Discussions between council and key stakeholders, in regard to Princess Park following the floods, are ongoing,” a council spokesman said.

“Council, in conjunction with the clubs, are working on the necessary temporary facilities in order to get the clubs back to the grounds as soon as practicably possible.

“Timeframes on this are unknown at this stage.

“Council will continue to work with stakeholders, user groups and other multi agencies, to understand and develop the best long-term strategy to ensure that any future disruption is minimised.”

No matter what happens, the Swans president is confident the club would continue to fight through the challenges.

“We’re a strong club, particularly in our juniors over the last few years,” Sutherland said.

“We’ve got good families and good kids at our club and that’s coming through seniors.

“I didn’t think this (the floods) would be end of our club in any stretch.

“(But) we do need a home, that is the whole gist of it.”

Joe Atley will return to Rochester this season. Photo: AFL Photos/Getty Images.

Rochester president Justin Cleary said his club came out of the floods as best it could.

The Tigers are in the process of securing temporary facilities for the netball area and will be assessing their second oval, which was damaged, and what can be done to fix it before the junior season.

Cleary revealed the biggest concern for the club was its people who suffered through the floods including Tigers coach Ash Watson who is living in a caravan in his backyard.

“Nearly every member of our football club was impacted,” Clearly said.

“Rochester has about 1000 homes, 900 of which would have seen water above floor level, so we’ve had a massive impact more on our people rather than our infrastructure.

“A lot of the Rochester community is either out of their homes, living in temporary accommodation away from town, or in temporary accommodation in Rochester.

“It’s very hard for the community to get together as they normally would. Our focus as a club is how we can facilitate coming together as a community.

“The mental health of the community is at an all-time low.”

Cleary said the club has come up with the idea of a ‘My Shout’ membership where people outside of the Rochester area can pay for a membership for a family or an individual in the community who can go to the games for free.

It’s a way of paying it forward to help those in Rochester who are finding the going tough.

To get involved head here.

On the field the club admits it will need some help with players.

Rochester’s Mitch Cricelli tries to take a mark last year. He’s playing for the club again this year. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

“We are still looking for a few players to be honest, another half a dozen keen players would be good to add to our senior list,” Cleary said.

“We could still do with another 2, 3 or 4, boys in our under-18s as well.

“If there is anyone out there that wants a game, we’d love to have you come along.”

Anyone interested can contact Cleary on 0409 800 678.

The new season begins for both clubs on April 8 with Rochester playing Kyabram and the Swans facing Mooroopna.