O&M greats call for urgent change to correct league imbalance

SOME of O&M’s top names have warned the competition will lose clubs if the league imbalance isn’t corrected.

Peter Tossol, Football coach.

SOME of the Ovens and Murray league’s most respected names have warned the competition will lose clubs if the current league imbalance is not urgently addressed.

A group of league greats, ­including Hall of Famers Peter Tossol and Tim Sanson and two-time Wangaratta premier­ship player Jon Henry, are calling for immediate ­action to address the growing gap between the haves and have-nots in the 10-team league.

The group also comprises Wodonga Raiders president Nic Conway, former Myrtleford president Adrian Villella and Corowa-Rutherglen board member Fred Longmire, father of Sydney Swans coach John.

Tossol, a Wangaratta Rovers premiership player and dual premiership coach at ­Corowa-Rutherglen, said the group had formed to publicly address the topic of competi­tion equalisation.

“This conversation has been going on around the place for some time, more than 12 months, and it’s the hot topic in local offices, pubs and on every street corner,” Tossol said.

“I know clubs are talking about it too but I think there’s a fear that if you say something, you’re seen as whingeing.

“So there’s a reluctance to talk publicly about what’s going on.

“But it’s got to the point that it’s overriding everything else that’s good about the compe­tition.”

The group is calling for a summit of all 10 clubs to air their concerns about the competition imbalance and wants the Ovens and Murray to introduce equalisation measures, such as a player points system, next year.

It will also push for the Ovens and Murray to be a trial league for equalisation mea­sures recommended by AFL Victoria’s current investigation into reducing player payments.

Tossol said the league — considered one of country Victoria’s strongest — was ­“uncompetitive and uninteresting”.

“There’s an environment at the moment which isn’t encouraging anyone to participate — supporters, committee members, volunteers.

“And if you’re a player, I’m beginning to wonder if you’d want to be involved when you know realistically you’ve got no chance of winning.

“The key word is hope. If you haven’t got any hope, you’ve got nothing.”

Ovens and Murray officials have indicated the league will await direction from AFL Victoria’s player payments working party before proceeding with equalisation measures.

But the working party’s survey of senior clubs statewide is voluntary and was only issued last week.

“We’d like to see something done immediately,” Tossol said. “The biggest driving force behind what we’re doing is we want to see every club remain in existence.

“I don’t see a future for some clubs, particularly rural clubs like Corowa- Rutherglen and Myrtleford and to a lesser extent Yarrawonga.

“We’d hate to see a league that’s been around for as long as the Ovens and Murray has lose some of these clubs that are the heart and soul of the competition.”

Albury and Yarrawonga have played off in the past five Ovens and Murray grand ­finals, with Albury considered an unbackable favourite for this year’s flag.

Wodonga, once a powerhouse club, sits winless at the bottom of the ladder.

Tossol said the pressure ­associated with fundraising to field competitive teams was causing some committee members and volunteers to leave the game for good.

“We love our competition and we love our clubs but we’re prepared to say we’ve got a big problem,” he said.

Tossol called on the Ovens and Murray league to “lead the way” on the equalisation issue.

“Our interleague performances haven’t been great over the past few years, but traditionally the Ovens and Murray has been a leader among country footy associations,” he said.

“This (imbalance) issue is probably going on around the state and we’d like the Ovens and Murray to see this as an opportunity, not an obstacle.”