Under siege St Mary’s confident a bank loan and monthly repayments will clear their debt

Brighter financial times are ahead for NTFL powerhouse St Mary’s, after positive negotiations to free themselves of debt.

St Mary’s president Adrian Moscheni has revealed how the club plans to bounce back from an indifferent season off field and losing to Nightcliff in one of the best NTFL grand finals ever played. Pictures: Che Chorley

ST MARY’S president Adrian Moscheni is confident the 32-time NTFL premier will be debt free by the start of the 2021-22 NTFL season.

While not revealing the previous debt, Moscheni said the money owing had been “whittled down by between 50 and 60 per cent’’ as they sought to ­reduce that figure to zero by September this year.

St Mary’s is confident a bank loan to cover the outstanding amount will be finalised by that date.

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Bank stipulations that a 12-month trading period must be completed before further evaluation is in progress.

Saints were unable to resume trading as a business until September last year because of the Covid-19 presence through 2020.

But they are confident they can fulfil the bank’s 12-month guidelines when the compulsory trading period expires in three month’s time.

“We approached the banks with a view to clearing our debt and start working on improving our cash flow and they wanted 12 months trading, which was fair enough,’’ ­Moscheni said.

“We can’t go back to them until September this year and we’ll do that.

St Mary’s president Adrian Moscheni has revealed how the club plans to bounce back from an indifferent season off field and losing to Nightcliff in one of the best NTFL grand finals ever played. Pictures: Che Chorley

“We’re attempting to clear our old debts that we’ve been chipping away at and have ­improved out of sight.

“But we still owe people money. We’re talking to those people and giving them bits as we can afford it.

“But if we can get the loan secured and clear all of those, owed then we can stabilise a monthly repayment plan and get back to a financially strong position.”

Moscheni said the creation of a Future Directions Group, a panel of experts who came in and were given the authority by the club executive to oversee the financial situation of the club, was a turning point in the club’s financial fight.

“Derek Campbell, David De Silva, Grant Dewsbury, Peter McFarlane, Helen Smith and Dominic McCormick are all business people in their own right,” he said.

“That group of people are probably the main reason I agreed to go back as president when I was asked.

“Having people like Grant Dewsbury, a qualified accountant and former chief financial adviser with a Singapore company and SkyCity Casino on board is a big plus.

“His father Phil is also a qualified accountant and in a twist, was summoned by then AFLNT boss Bob Elix in 2004 to do a financial check on where St Mary’s were at.”