Tocumwal will return to Murray Football Netball League in 2023 after its member clubs voted to accept the application it lodged last week to shift across from the Picola District Football Netball League.
All 12 clubs in the Murray league met at a special general meeting held at Nathalia on Monday night, with all voting unanimously to welcome Tocumwal back into the league’s ranks.
Tocumwal’s intention to shift competitions came from its desire to be in a league affiliated with AFL Victoria, after the Picola District league decided it would enter the 2023 season unaffiliated from the governing body.
The decision comes after what has been a trying off-season between Tocumwal and the Picola District league.
The NSW-based outfit was provisionally suspended by the league from October until mid-February.
Yet, the news on Friday surprised district football followers.
Tocumwal was included in the PDL fixture for the upcoming season and even the league’s operations manager Shane Railton revealed he was “bemused” by the club’s intentions to join the MFNL.
Following the outcome of Monday night’s meeting Tocumwal rejoins the Murray league ranks after it departed in 2014.
Club president Matthew Petersen expressed his gratitude to the MFNL and AFL Victoria for their assistance in making the move possible.
“We’re extremely grateful for the support and encouragement we’ve received from the MFNL and the AFL (Victoria),” he said.
“The MFNL board and administrators plus the respective clubs have been extremely accommodating of us which gives us great confidence this is the right move for Tocumwal players, members and sponsors.
“It’s humbling to be welcomed back into the league the club has spent most of its 130-plus years of existence in.
“We’ve also fulfilled our commitment to remain in an AFL affiliated league which we believe is important for the future of the club’s administration and players.”
From a MFNL perspective the decision to accept the application was a simple one.
League general manager Dale Norman said all 12 clubs were happy to welcome their former member club and provide Tocumwal with a home.
Norman said he was proud of the way the association banded together to help Tocumwal achieve its goal of competing in an AFL Victoria affiliated league.
“Tocumwal expressed a desire to remain in an affiliated league and all credit to our existing clubs who accommodated the request and welcomed them with open arms,” he said.
“They just wanted to give Tocumwal a home where it can feel needed, get its mojo back and just bring some fun back to football and netball.
“There was no animosity towards anyone in this process, this is a good outcome all around and our clubs understand that Tocumwal was looking for an affiliated league and we were happy to help.”
Norman said it was a quick process from when Tocumwal first approached the league to it being officially admitted on Monday night.
“They reached out to us and it was only about 10 days ago, which was Thursday week, we engaged with the club last Tuesday and then spoke to our club presidents on Wednesday,” he said.
“We then had a bit of a debrief on Thursday, announced the special meeting on Friday and here we are now with Tocumwal as part of our league moving forward.”
As a result of Tocumwal’s arrival, the MFNL will have to create a new draw for the 2023 season.
While this had the potential to cause issues so close to the start of the season, Norman said the clubs were onboard when it came to a new fixture and were excited to see the Bloods included.
“The thing that isn’t ideal about this situation is that we do need to create a whole new fixture,” he said.
“But the clubs didn’t mind too much; in fact we’ve had clubs ask if they could play Tocumwal twice to bring back old rivalries and this return brings a bit of romance back into the season.
“We have worked around dates that clubs already had balls and venues booked, so we are well into the process and will have something released soon.”