Upper Murray FL: Federal backflips on push to field reserves team only

One of country football’s oldest clubs has found a way to survive another season. Find out how they stayed alive.

Federal has survived for at least another season after a last minute call to field a senior team in the Upper Murray league with a former premiership player and dual league best and fairest winner among those returning to the fold.

Brent Ohlin, who played in the club’s last premiership in 2016 and also was appointed coach in 2020 before Covid wiped out all country football, will make a comeback in the Swans first match of the season on Saturday against arch rival Corryong.

The club had wanted to field a reserves team only, but the move was blocked by the league’s constitution stating all competing clubs must have a senior team.

Federal had been given until Monday night to come up with seniors or face being forced into recess.

Ohlin, 35, who has not played for three seasons and coached Wodonga Raiders reserves last year, didn’t want the club to go under.

“It has been pretty well documented around the northeast region that there are big player number issues,” he said.

“The Upper Murray is not the only one in trouble.

“There are a lot of clubs in the same boat.

“If we can keep going for another 12 months and AFL North-East Border tries to do something about what is happening around some of these clubs it might help them survive.

“It might be just prolonging the inevitable. You just don’t know.”

Brent Ohlin played in Federal’s 2016 Upper Murray premiership.

Federal co-president Craig Sheather said “player power” had turned the club’s dire predicament around which will see the club field seniors and reserves football teams and a full contingent of netball sides after the club had the bye in the opening round played last weekend.

“Some are old, some aren’t fit, but we’ve got a team,” Sheather said.

“As tough as it was going to be for us, it was going to be tough for the rest of the league too.

“If we didn’t have seniors there could have been three weeks without football for some teams with us not playing and other byes.

“Nobody wants that and it’s a relief for everybody really.”

Matt Jones will coach Federal which was one of the league’s foundation clubs formed in 1892.