Local footy club forced to withdraw its senior side at mid-way point of the season

A local footy club, that won a flag as recently as 2019, has been forced to withdraw its senior side for the rest of the season. See the latest details.

SFNL (Div 4) football Grand Final: Lyndhurst v South Yarra. South Yarra players celebrating their victory. Picture: Valeriu Campan

A treacherous start to the 2023 season has forced Southern league club South Yarra to convert its senior side to a stand-alone reserves outfit.

A meeting with all Division 4 clubs was held last Wednesday to discuss the Lions’ immediate future in the senior competition.

The result of the meeting will see the Lions field just a reserves side for the remainder of the season.

The Lions have lost each of their seven matches by 95 points or more – four in excess of 200 points – and have a percentage of just 9.31.

Concerns increased over the past month when South Yarra struggled to field a reserves side.

South Yarra celebrating its 2019 title. Picture: Valeriu Campan

South Yarra won the Division 4 premiership as recently as 2019, which ultimately proved a cog in its downfall, as a number of senior players retired.

The difficult time has been enhanced by the Lions being without a proper training venue and being forced to train on Monday and Wednesday nights.

Lions’ coach George Koumantatakis said a “a perfect storm” forced the club to pull its senior side but he remains hopeful of returning to senior footy in quick time.

“When you look at the results we have put up during the course off the season, it’s not about winning games of footy, it’s about overall competitiveness,” he says.

“Where the club is at at the moment, we aren’t able to sustain a level of competitiveness that makes it a game of football where the result is unknown.

“At the moment our opposition are turning up, and to their credit they are very respectful of where we’re at and offer words of support post game, but the reality is we’ll lose players and won’t have the capacity to put a team on the park if the status quo remains.

“I think the push for us is to take our medicine for the moment with the view of returning back into the senior competition as promptly as 2024, coinciding with the return of our home ground.”

South Yarra celebrates its 2019 premiership. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The competition already holds a bye after Cerberus pulled its teams on the eve of the season.

An email by SFNL CEO Lee Hartman was sent to all Division 4 clubs outlining the structure of the final eight matches of the season.

“We will re-fixture to eliminate the senior bye from Round 10 (half-way point of the season) through to Round 18,” the email says.

“We will keep Round 9 as per the current fixture this week. Hampton will have the bye and South Yarra will field reserves only v Dandenong (seniors will receive a forfeit under the forfeit rules).

“We will send the revised fixture out tomorrow for seniors & reserves.

“We will be keeping home game dates where possible, it is not possible for all games as some clubs playing against each other may both have been at home when they are now fixture to play.”

Lee Hartman has been contacted for comment.