Broadford leaves the RDFL after 11 years, shifting to AFL Outer East, as it searches for sustainability
Broadford’s search for a sustainable future and improved youth pathway will see the club shift from the Riddell District Football League to AFL Outer East next season.
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Broadford’s 11-year stay in the Riddell District Football League is over.
The Kangaroos’ move to the AFL Outer East was confirmed on Thursday as the club searches for financial stability and youth development.
At the club’s AGM on October 23, Broadford’s members voted 47-5 in favour of a move.
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It will see the Kangaroos begin life in the AFLOE Division 2, which leaves the RDFL as a 10-team competition.
“We explored a couple of options, we’ve been trying to find a best fit for our club for a long time,” Broadford president Bonnie Cavanagh said.
“We’re a fringe club (geographically) for lack of a better term and when you look at how far we have to travel, we wanted to be country based, not metro.
“The other part is looking at the sustainability of our youth pathways and being part of Riddell has given us a lot of challenges around the under-19.5 age group.
“Our juniors aren’t affiliated with us … they’re under-16s coming into an under-19.5 comp and it just wasn’t working.
“They were going to Kilmore or taking a year off and never coming back, so it was damaging the game.”
AFL Outer East region general manager Aaron Bailey said the league was excited to welcome Broadford in 2020, adding the competition could provide the Kangaroos a more sustainable future.
“I think it’s a really good like-for-like fit for them and it’s a good opportunity for them to find a competition structure where they believe they can have long-term sustainability,” he said.
“We’ll have three divisions of graded under-18s and that will provide Broadford a clear pathway from under-16s to 18s.”
Broadford had been a part of the RDFL from 1977 to 1984 before moving to the Heathcote District league between 1985 and 2008.
It returned to the RDFL in 2009.
Travel has been an ever-present issue for the club, but Cavanagh didn’t believe a move to the AFLOE would mean any extra kilometres.
“We get (travel) everywhere we go, we used to be a part of the Heathcote league and we were going to Lockington – that was an hour and 45 minutes,” she said.
“When I did a comparison of our travel in the Riddell, Kyabram, GV and Outer East, it was very similar.
“We need a refresh, to have a look at something that’s sustainable in five to 10 years’ time and the travel part is not that much … places like Yarra Glen, Yarra Junction will only be once a year.”
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