Golden Rivers FL: Quambatook to finish up at end of 2022

The end of road is coming for a football and netball club in northern Victoria, which hasn’t been able to field junior teams for many years.

Quambatook Football-Netball Club will fold at the end of the season rather than explore a merger with a rival Golden Rivers league club.

The Saints’ inability to field junior and netball teams in recent years has driven the shock move less than a month into the season.

Club president Rhys Carmicheal said the ongoing dearth of junior players in the town meant the club wouldn’t be an attractive merger partner for another club in the eight-team competition.

“I reckon we would lose our identity if we merged,” he said.

“A majority of our players come from Melbourne, Bendigo, St Arnaud and not many are locals.

“We’re struggling with volunteers and we’ve got no juniors.

“There are just not the people in the community.

“Farms are getting bigger and taking less people to run them.

“It’s the same people doing everything and they are just getting tired.”

Posted by Quambatook Football and Netball Club on Thursday, April 28, 2022

Quambatook’s inability to field junior football and netball teams in recent years has led to the decision to finish up at end of this season.

Quambatook didn’t field an A grade netball team last year in the season shortened by Covid, but had resurrected one this year.

The Saints began this season with a 110-point defeat in round one to Nullawil which wanted to switch to the North Central league at the end of last year, but was blocked on the grounds its move would have a detrimental impact on the remaining seven clubs.

Quambatook bounced back to win its second round clash against Macorna by 64 points and is due to play against Hay on Saturday.

The club was founded in 1911 and won its last senior premiership in 1997.

Quambatook’s Jim Wallis played for St Kilda in the early 1960s.

Jim Wallis started his career at Quambatook and played 39 matches for St Kilda in the early 1960s.

AFL Central Victoria region manager Craig Armstead said every avenue would be explored to keep Quambatook going.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said.

“But our view is we still hope they could continue in 2023 because it’s still only April.

“We would like to work with the club and explore that option.

“They have been competitive and it’s not like they’ve been losing games by 100 points every week.”

But Carmichael said the situation had become too dire and revealed the reason behind the early call.

“It gives people from here the chance to come back and play or be involved in that last game if they want to,” he said.