Bendigo: League left in dark amid decision-making tensions with AFL Central Victoria

The Bendigo Football-Netball League has lifted the lid on its frustrations with the region’s peak football body.

The Bendigo Football-Netball League is feeling “frozen out” of big decisions on future competition structures in the area.

League chairwoman Carol McKinstry has confirmed she and other board members have not had a face-to-face meeting for 12 months with AFL Central Victoria commissioners, who tried and failed to get a new league started last year and knocked back two bids from Maiden Gully-YCW to enter an under-18 football team in the BFNL this season.

The BFNL has also been without a dedicated general manager since the end of last season when the league’s administrator Cameron Tomlins was seconded into the role of acting regional manager of AFLCV.

Bendigo Football-Netball League chairwoman Carol McKinstry.

Ms McKinstry said the BFNL was desperate to secure a 10th club to replace Kyneton, which has departed for the Riddell District league and revealed Maiden Gully-YCW remained its No. 1 target.

“We haven’t directly spoken to the commission since last March,” she said.

“We do feel like we’ve been frozen out. What has exacerbated things is the regional general manager (Craig Armstead) left. He was doing a fantastic job and communicating with us.

“But we haven’t really had any communication with the commission as a whole.”

The BFNL has also experienced an exodus of talent to neighbouring leagues since last season.

Ms McKinstry said having Maiden Gully-YCW playing in the BFNL under-18s this year would have laid important groundwork for the whole club to come into its ranks in 2025.

“The transition from coming in from a district league into a major league isn’t easy,” she said.

“It’s why we exhausted every avenue to get an under-18 team this year.

“Again we aren’t getting told any reason why that didn’t get done.”

Kyneton Tigers have left the Bendigo league to join the Riddell District competition. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

The AFLCV Commission has only recently advertised the regional manager role with key responsibilities including “participation and community growth” of the game.

Ms McKinstry said she felt for Mr Tomlins in trying to “serve two masters who are at loggerheads” for nearly six months.

The Weekly Times has repeatedly attempted to contact AFLCV Commission chairman Nicholas Rolfe for comment.

Meanwhile, the Kyabram District league is advertising for an operations manager less than a month before the start of the season following the resignation of Thomas Favaro.