LIAM DURKIN
FOOTBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
By LIAM DURKIN
THE Gippsland League formally launched the 2022 season last week.
The league launch was held at the Traralgon Vineyard, as representatives from all 10 member
clubs came together to officially welcome in the new season.
Patrons were treated to speeches from former Carlton cult hero Dennis Armfield, and Australian netballer Shelley O’Donnell.
Those in attendance also heard from Andrew Livingstone, one of the board members of the
new Gippsland League Board of Management.
The Gippsland League and AFL Gippsland announced mid last year the Gippsland League would progress to a self-governance model for 2022 and beyond.
Gippsland League was administered by the AFL Gippsland Regional Administration Centre
(RAC) since 2015.
At its most basic, a self-governance model means any league decisions will be made by the incoming board on behalf of the member clubs.
The members are: Livingstone, Brett Tessari, Dean Benson, Duane Rek, Jodi Galea, Shane Paynter, Ian Dougherty and Stuart Dalton.
Livingstone said the new board was looking forward to some exciting initiatives on the horizon.
“It has been a two-year process, the clubs decided they wanted to go back to a board of management structure,” he said.
“I think the Gippsland League is a fantastic comp and we really need to maintain a premier
division of football/netball across the region.
“Moving forward we just really want to build the league off the field financially and see all the
clubs prosper.
“We are putting together a five-year strategic plan in conjunction with GippSport which will identify a lot of important areas we want to move to.
“The board is all united on making sure we continue to build the brand and set the bar higher and higher and work alongside all the other leagues in the region because we want to be strong and we want everyone to be strong. At the end of the day that will benefit us as well.”
