I have had a love of football since I can remember. We used to listen to the footy on the radio and sit down to the winners on Saturday night to go through the days results. My brother barracked for Carlton and me Essendon so there was plenty of Doull versus Vanderhaar in the backyard and anywhere else we could find. We played all our junior footy in Mansfield starting with the mini midgets (under 10’s) right through to the seniors in the early to mid 90’s.
I never had the ultimate success at senior level falling short in the 1994 grand final against Shepp East but it did come in the 1997 reserves grand final against Alexandra. I was always interested in the Admin side of the club serving on the committee during my playing days and being heavily involved in the social club.
My wife and I spent 15 years in Melbourne during the clubs early days in the GVFL. I started helping recruit players to the club from Melbourne. Some of these were a success including the Hotton’s which brought the club a sustained period in the finals and culminating in 2 premierships. It was a great time to be an Eagle. Once we moved to Mansfield it was a logical progression for me to take on the Presidency at the Eagles. This was a time that I enjoyed very much and over the 4 years we achieved a lot including the re development of the ground. It also introduced me to the workings on the league and its administration.
The discussion at club level was around how we might improve the league and after many negotiations, often heated we as a group of clubs took the steps to join with the AFL GM. My presidency was coming to an end and I wanted to continue the good work done by the clubs. I stood for a position on the Board of GV and won a seat late last year.
I believe we have made the right move and the league will go from strength to strength. In the 12 months the clubs, the new look Board and AFL GM have been working together and we have achieved a massive amount. The league now has a strategic focus that will drive our planning. We have increased sponsorship of the league by 20% and removed or renegotiated negative sponsorship arrangements. There has been an increase in club satisfaction of the administration of the league. Delegates meetings are now informed and productive and we have secured a 3 year broadcast deal with live calls each week as well as continuing the footy show on Saturday mornings.
Exposure of the league has been important and our social media stats continue to support the leagues popularity. 2.2 million more people hit the website in the last 12 months a 144% increase from the previous year. The Facebook page is up 16% and last year’s Morrison Medal reached 112,000 people across the region. We hope to use these numbers to support increased sponsorship opportunities. Live streaming was implemented in round 1 with great success as over 5,500 people tuned into the broadcast with people still supporting with their feet as attendance at the game was fantastic.
It is clear from recent written media that not all our decisions have been popular especially with those that have gone before us but we need to move forward. “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs”. Let’s look forward to helping under 18 numbers and supporting clubs with improved facilities. These are some of the most important issues facing us at the moment and the League along with the Clubs is hard at work resolving them.
If you want to have a chat about any of the leagues decisions please feel free to come up and say hello and I’ll see you at the footy.
Last Modified on 27/09/2016 17:29