Beleura Junior Football Club forfeits U13 final over fixture fail
A Mornington Peninsula junior girls’ footy team has been left devastated after being forced to forfeit a final due to a fixture clash with their local netball league — and it’s not the first time there has been a scheduling double-up.
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Junior footy players are fuming after a fixture clash with crucial netball games forced them to miss a final.
Beleura Junior Football Club’s Under 13 girls team had to forfeit their Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League consolation final on Saturday as it was scheduled to start at 12.30pm — the same time as finals-shaping Mornington Netball Association games the footy players were involved in.
It was a disappointing case of deja vu for the club, which last year faced a similar fixture clash that was resolved only when the netball association agreed to change its match times.
This year the girls were not so fortunate, with parent Amanda Dark saying the clash had upset the entire footy club.
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“My kids play in different age groups but we are all very angry about it as it affects the morale of the club as a whole,” Ms Dark said.
The league plays its home and away games on Sundays, which avoids clashes with Saturday netball games. But it scheduled several junior footy final games for last Saturday.
The football club, in a social media post, stated August 24 was a “sad day for junior football”.
“Due to avoidable circumstances … our champion U/13 girls team have had no choice but to forfeit their 12.30pm final today,” the post read.
“We apologise we could not do anymore (sic), and we are sorry to see you let down again.”
Bianca Moresco, who coaches one of the netball teams and manages the girls’ football side, said her twins, Jacinta and Abbey, were involved in last year’s fixture clash and could not believe they were in the same predicament this year.
Ms Moresco said the clash meant only eight of the 22 football players were available for the final.
“We had 10 (girls) with netball games for seven different clubs,” she said.
“I’m the netball coach and also team manager for the footy team. There was no way I could do both.”
Ms Moresco said the league must have been aware of potential clashes with other sports.
“We just can’t believe it’s happened again,” she said.
“I know it was a consolation final but the girls train hard every week and they deserve to have a chance to play.”
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A Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League official posted a negative review, since removed, on the Beleura Junior Football Club’s Facebook page, stating: “They post false news about the league without doing any research.”
The netball association has been contacted for comment.