Rob Simmonds takes over as Ballarat league chairperson

For the first time this decade a new person is in charge of the Ballarat league. He outlines what the focus is for the league in 2025.

Melton won the Ballarat league premiership over East Point in 2024. Picture: Ballarat Football Netball League.

New Ballarat league chairperson Rob Simmonds says building on the foundations of 2024 will be the focus of his new tenure.

Simmonds takes over from Adrian Bettio who was in the role from 2019 to 2024.

Bettio oversaw some tough times with Covid cancelling the competition for two years and the league then needing to rebound.

The new chairperson was vice-president last year and has also been a part of the league in other ways over the years.

Simmonds is a life member at the Ballarat Football Umpires Association and previously held positions among the board before he was part of the BFNL.

He takes over after last year, for the first time since Covid, the team recorded a profit in the financial year.

Simmonds said it was important to build on that.

“The goal is basically to continue to get back our financial position out of Covid,” he said.

“Last year was the first year we got back to profit after Covid.

“From a financial point of view it is to build on that and the resilience in the league.”

Simmonds’ other major focus is continuing the growth of the women’s league.

The Ballarat league is one of the strongest in country footy, with six teams involved.

Kim Bessell celebrates kicking a goal. The focus of the league in 2025 is to build on the women’s competition. Picture: Darley Football Netball Club.

The competition has also produced AFLW players including Claire Mahony who went to North Melbourne in last year’s draft.

But Simmonds said the league can do better.

“The girls and women’s football is a major focus for growth and development,” he said.

“Our focus is to keep ticking the women’s competition along and keep improving it but then how can we grow and build the junior arm of football.

Simmonds said that was the only way all BFNL league club and Carisbrook, who is part of the women’s competition, could field senior teams.

Currently six teams play in the women’s seniors and Simmonds said it would take a while for it to increase to 11.

“That’s the long term goal, but I don’t see it happening in the next two to three years.

“There’s not a big enough pool of junior girls playing football yet.

“If you look at the male side of things you have got all those clubs who have a seniors and reserves and 12, 13, 14 and 16s and all those age groups.

“Girls football there is only one team and that is light on numbers.

“Just purely on numbers to have the 10 seniors women’s teams I can’t see that happening until we get a bigger junior pool.”

So the focus is on building the junior pool.

Simmonds said it starts from the bottom and one initiative would continue this year.

“The under-12 (girls) is a new concept we brought in last year and that was really good fun and we are going to keep building on that.

“We’ll definitely have an under-12 competition this year.”

Interleague game is on the move

The Western Bulldogs AFL game against Adelaide at Mars Stadium in July has forced the Ballarat league to move its interleague match against Hampden to another venue.

This masthead can reveal the July 5 match, between the under-23 teams, and other interleague contests, will almost certainly be held at Eastern Oval.

Mars Stadium was the preferred venue for the Ballarat league for the third clash between the two competitions.

This year Ballarat is hosting the event after Hampden held the last contest in 2024 and Ballarat started the initiative in 2023.

Both games have been won by Ballarat.

But when the AFL draw came out and the Bulldogs and Crows match was announced for the weekend of July 10-12 the venue became unavailable.

No date has officially been set for the AFL match.

For any AFL game at Mars Stadium, no training or matches can be held at the venue it in the two weeks before.

Eastern Oval could be hosting interleague after Mars Stadium became unavailable due to the AFL. Picture: Alex Coppel.

As a result the Ballarat league were left with no other choice.

“We booked it in with Hampden last year before the AFL,” Ballarat league chairperson Rob Simmonds said.

“This is the weekend we want to run it. Then the AFL one came in (and it changed).”

Without confirming it, Eastern Oval looks to be the venue the Ballarat league uses.

The Ballarat league’s other choice, City Oval, will be unavailable.

“It potentially looks likely to be at the Eastern Oval,” Simmonds said.

“It’s got a good atmosphere and they have got the change rooms, which are quite good.

“We’ve got to work with East Point to use their facilities and function room for the presentations.”

Simmonds added there will be no Ballarat league matches at East Point’s home ground the week before the interleague.

He said the concept is also here to stay and there would also be the addition of another game to the fixture list with another female girls age group to be added.

“It’s definitely here to stay,” Simmonds said.

“There’s great feedback from all involved and Hampden have been brilliant to deal with.”

The match will be held on July 5.

Originally published as Rob Simmonds takes over as Ballarat league chairperson