Parkside Past Players and Officials Association question club’s proposed move from Northern Football League to VAFA

A GROUP of passionate past players and officials are hoping Parkside will abandon its proposed move from the Northern Football League to the Victorian Amateur Football Association.

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A GROUP of passionate past players and officials are hoping Parkside will abandon its proposed move from the Northern Football League to the Victorian Amateur Football Association.

Parkside Past Players and Officials Association secretary Jason McCall said the majority of the group’s 70 members believed the Devils could be viable in the NFL.

“I’ve been doing the ring-around with the members and most of them are surprised,” McCall said.

“Most of these people aren’t involved on a weekly or biweekly basis going to the footy.

“There’s a few guys from way, way back in the 60s and 50s that will probably support the move because they’re amateur people.

“But I’ll say the majority, and it’s probably 95 per cent of them, would be against what’s taken place and how it’s come about.”

It comes as Parkside’s members prepare to vote on the club’s return to the VAFA after a barren run in Division 3 this year.

The club will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, August 26, having requested affiliation with the VAFA for 2015.

McCall said the association had discovered Parkside’s committee discussed a move to the VAFA after its heavy loss to Heidelberg West in Round 4.

“To be honest we’ve really had no information or involvement,” he said.

“We were pretty much kept in the dark until we read an article in the paper.

“That’s the first time I’d ever heard of it.

“I go to every home game, my son plays in the juniors, I’ve been down there for 20 plus years and I pretty much heard nothing.”

Parkside president Michael Sabelberg said he was confident most of the club’s players would vote in support of the switch.

“A lot of it seems to be positive, the players seem to be keen for it (and) the junior club is supporting the move,” Sabelberg said.

Sabelberg said there was “a couple of reasons” the club did not see a future in the NFL, but declined to go into more detail.

He said the club’s committee had been happy to meet with the past players association, but the club’s future was ultimately their responsibility.

“The committee is in charge of running the club, so we make the decisions,” he said.

“Obviously their view is important and we try to catch up with them and listen to their concerns as much as possible.”

McCall, a former Devils player and committee member, said the club was “like my second home.”

“All clubs go through bad patches, it’s just a matter of getting through that and flourishing after that,” he said.

The VAFA would have to accept Parkside’s application if it decides to pursue a move.

VAFA club Banyule, which competes in Premier C, has signalled its intent to join the NFL next year.