FOOTBALL
THE North Gippsland Football Netball League and Traralgon and District Junior Football League are the latest bodies to join the AFL Gippsland Region Administration Centre in Morwell.
The move follows the recent signing of the Gippsland League and Alberton Football Netball League.
Under the AFL Gippsland Commission banner, the RAC will form a central hub of football operations in Gippsland, headed by region manager Travis Switzer.
Last season’s NGFNL general manager and new TDJFL president Gordon Bayley said the move would alleviate strain on administrative resources.
“Junior football has historically relied on volunteers and part-time staff to administer its leagues and we feel that the professional environment created at the RAC is the best option for our league now and into the future,” Bayley said.
Pauline Bayley, who has served as administrator for both the NGFNL and the TDJFL, will join AFL Gippsland as the North Gippsland operations manager, while Matthew Ogilvie has been appointed Central Gippsland operations manager.
AFL Victoria Country Football Review contributor John Anderson has also joined the AFL Gippsland Commission in a casual capacity.
The review itself will form part of the commission’s strategic vision for football in Gippsland.
The commission has also been bolstered by the appointment of Chelsea Caple and Ryan Evans to the role of football development managers.
Caple and Evans will join Gippsland Power coach Leigh Brown and AFL Victoria’s FDM Rob Reid to complete AFL Gippsland’s football development team.
The group will play an important role in the creation and implementation of a strategic plan for football in the region, under the guidance of the AFL Gippsland Commission and AFL Victoria Country.
Caple will be one of the first women to occupy an FDM role in the new commission structure, and comes from a background as club development manager with Calisthenics Victoria.
Evans, a former teacher, has played football with several clubs across the region and is well entrenched in the local sporting landscape.
AFL Victoria Country manager Brett Connell said the role of the FDM was an amalgamation of the AFL Victoria region development managers and AFL Vic Country area managers, giving all stakeholders in the region access to new levels of support and game development expertise.
The commission is currently engaged in club consultation to determine their needs and those of the region at large.
