NFL: Lalor to request relegation to Division 3 for 2018 as it battles after player exodus

LALOR is set to request relegation to Division 3 of the Northern Football League after a mass exodus of senior players crippled the club’s playing list.

Lalor is set to request relegation to Northern Football League Division 3. Picture: Steve Tanner.

LALOR is set to request relegation to Division 3 of the Northern Football League after a mass exodus of senior players crippled the club’s playing list.

The Bloods will present to the Northern Football League on Monday with a request to drop from Division 2 to the third tier this year, citing “stability” and “assurance” as key factors in their decision.

Lalor will also ask for a “match permit partnership” with clubs outside Division 3 to be introduced to allow players to transfer in and out of the club each week.

“Our priority is to secure 60 Lalor registered players so we don’t need to utilise the option,” president Ben Charles said.

Charles released a statement on Sunday confirming the club would ask to play in Division 3 in 2018, replacing the existing bye in the fixture.

The change would result in Lalor taking on second-year club Laurimar in its first match of the year and create a bye for the second time in three years in Division 2.

The second division operated with seven sides in 2016 after reigning Division 3 premier Reservoir withdrew due to a player shortage.

Charles said “heaping more anxiety on the club’s current position would be irresponsible”.

He said the club had to be mindful of how its results this year could impact recruitment, player confidence and the “Bloods brand”.

Lalor has battled for results since it finished as minor premier in Division 2 in 2015 and lost the grand final to Whittlesea by three points.

The Bloods finished bottom of the ladder in 2016 with three wins but survived relegation due to Reservoir’s withdrawal and finished 2017 with a 3-15 record.

Ex-coach Jarrod King, Shane Jacobs (both Bundoora), Jhye Baddeley-Kelly (North Heidelberg) and former skipper Shannon Smith (Craigieburn) are among the senior players who have moved on this off-season.

New coach Dean Grainger conceded earlier this month the club faced an “uphill battle” but added Lalor was determined to keep its place in the second tier beyond 2018.

“We know what’s ahead of us,” he said.

“If we do all the right things and keep pushing in the (right) direction ... there’s no reason we can’t stay in Division 2.”