Mick Malthouse visits struggling country club Wahgunyah

West Coast and Collingwood premiership coach Mick Malthouse has put a struggling country club through its paces.

AFL coaching legend Mick Malthouse has given struggling country club Wahgunyah a much-needed boost after a horror start to the season, which has seen the team suffer the two heaviest defeats in the league’s history.

The three-time premiership coach took the club for training last night, with the Tallangatta and District league to resume after a bye this weekend.

Wahgunyah’s two huge defeats by 358 and 432 points were against Dederang Mt Beauty and Beechworth.

“There is going to be no magic formula out there tonight, I will give you the tip,” Malthouse said.

“Every step must be taken to see a football club like this remain with its name intact.

“I’m not suggesting for one moment that they merge.

“(But) you can’t survive without kids.

“The club knows if the team folds, the netball folds as well and the town dies.

“It’s too simple just to blame the AFL.”

The Wahgunyah Lions couldn’t field teams in the under-17 and under-14 competitions this season in an area where three other district league teams and a major league club were in close proximity.

AFL Victoria officials have previously identified problems in the “Corowa Cluster” of clubs, but no changes have been made.

The Tallangatta league clubs also have $15,000 less to spend on players compared to the neighbouring Hume league, which is administered by AFL NSWACT.

Wahgunyah’s problems were compounded when coach and last year’s best and fairest Kodee Lowe accepted a job in Western Australia on the eve of the season.

Club president Darryl Hore said the Lions knew it was going to be a “tough year”, but vowed to fight on.

“We haven’t hidden from that, but I don’t think the penny dropped with the public until we suffered the first record loss,” he said.

“There are times when clubs cry wolf a little bit, but after that first big loss everyone realised we’re seriously in trouble.”

Hore said the club hoped the Tallangatta and Hume leagues clubs could be operating under the salary cap next year.

“There is some real inequality there and it’s something the AFL needs to look at,” he said.

“There are things we need to look at with juniors.

“We need to get those teams back.”

Wes Canny, a former player and now club trainer, said he had never seen the club’s on-field fortunes so low.

“It’s a different year to any other year and as hard as it could be,” he said.

“You’ve just got to keep fronting up and I feel more for the players.

“In my day we won a lot of games of footy, but these blokes are fronting up knowing they are going to get beat.

“We’ve got to get ourselves out of it and there is a lot of momentum starting to happen.”