Beaconsfield applies to join the Eastern league

AFL Outer East top team Beaconsfield says it wants to ‘play the highest standard of football we can’.

Beaconsfield and Upwey Tecoma players shake hands after the final siren in their match this year.

A third Premier Division club wants out of the AFL Outer East competition.

Beaconsfield, coached by “Mighty Mick’’ Fogarty to an 8-0 record before Covid ended the season, has applied to join the Eastern league.

Eastern has alerted its clubs that it will soon call a special meeting to vote on the Beacy bid.

Should they get a transfer it’s likely the Eagles will start in Division 1

Cranbourne, which was second on the AFL Outer East Premier ladder, had already applied to become affiliated with the Mornington Peninsula Nepean league.

And Doveton wants to make the move to the Southern league.

Beaconsfield vice-president Scott Hilton confirmed today his club was keen on the switch to Eastern.

“We are looking to move over, yeah,’’ he said.

“We have actually physically applied.

“We think it would be a great fit for our club.

“We’ve got a great list and a great junior program so we think we’d be more than competitive.

“There’s been feedback from the players, both our own and the opposition, that Beaconsfield is probably a little bit big in population and size for some of the Yarra Valley clubs.

“They weren’t enjoying it, we weren’t enjoying it, although we were winning. It’s not much fun.

Hilton said Beaconsfield would prefer to go into Premier Division of the EFNL.

“That’s up to the league itself,’’ he said.

“We’ve got to get in there first. We’d prefer Premier and to test ourselves but we want to play the highest standard of football we can.’’

Narre Warren president Stuart Stephenson said his club would be staying in the AFL Outer East next year.

The Magpies did submit an “expression of interest’’ to join Mornington Peninsula.

“We’ll be staying in the AFL Outer East,’’ Narre president Stuart Stephenson said this afternoon.

“At this stage it’s the best fit for us so we’ll be staying there

“We expressed an interest in the MPNFL, sounded them out, and received probably a 50-50 response. We didn’t think we’d be able to move the other clubs so we’ve decided to stay where we are at the moment.’’

AFL Outer East GM Aaron Bailey declined to comment.

The competition was formed at the end of 2018 when the South East Football Netball League linked with the AFL Yarra Ranges.