Ovens and Murray and Goulburn Valley league financial results released

TWO of the powerhouse leagues in northern Victoria have revealed less-than-powerhouse financial results for the past year.

TWO of the powerhouse leagues in northern Victoria have revealed less-than-powerhouse financial results for the past year.

Wet weather during finals has been blamed for most of the hit the Ovens and Murray football league’s financial result suffered this year.

The league posted a $25,807 loss at a meeting on Monday night, having posted a surplus of about $60,000 last year, according to league general manager Sean Barrett.

Barrett said a drop in finals revenue from about $193,000 last year to about $119,000 this year caused the majority of the loss.

It comes after the nearby Goulburn Valley league posted a loss of $41,173 at its annual general meeting last week. Finals takings dropped by $21,000, according to league chairman David Roff, including a “pretty ordinary” preliminary final weekend.

That was the same weekend the Ovens and Murray played its grand final. Barrett put the finals financial drop this year down to the weather, not the dominance of Albury, which won its third consecutive premiership this year (and second in a row against Lavington) from its eighth straight grand final appearance in an undefeated year.

“We had the same two teams 12 months earlier (in the grand final) ... that dominance isn’t something that has just crept in,” he said.

“Twelve months earlier on a perfect sunny day we had a bumper crowd of over 10,000 and finals income was really strong. This year it rained from 6.30am to 2.30pm constantly and the crowd was down to 4,500.

“To be honest if you look at it as an attraction and an event, if I weren’t the general manager ... there was no way I’d take my family and kids to the footy on a day when it was pelting down rain for the day regardless of whether it was a grand final.

“Whether the Albury dominance as such has played a part, I think it would be a much smaller part than what we’ve actually incurred. In our eyes, it’s primarily due to the weather this year.”

Barrett said the league was in a good financial position and would be able to absorb the result without affecting the services to the clubs.

He said fees would remain the same next year.

The league has also appointed Terry Dillon, the vice-president at Cora Lynn Football Club, to conduct a review with the league’s clubs.

Roff said the Goulburn Valley’s loss reflected a grant payment to the league’s 12 clubs totalling $30,000, and operating costs and depreciation of its former offices, which it sold this year for $150,000. He said the league was budgeting for a “small surplus” next year.