FOOTBALL-NETBALL – LIAM DURKIN
STATE Opposition leader John Pesutto was back home before Christmas, and took time to visit a number of community groups.
The former Traralgon resident reconnected with his roots, touring the region with Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron to hear and see on-the-ground issues.
Among their appointments was a visit to Traralgon Football-Netball Club – a place Cameron played close to 300 senior games.
After a quick photo next to ‘Camo’s’ locker, the pair met with Maroons president Kevin Foley, who took the opposition leader on a tour of the club’s makeshift facilities.
Traralgon FNC, along with a number of Traralgon Recreation Reserve user groups, are still without proper facilities after the June 2021 floods.
The Maroons have been operating in severely compromised change rooms for the last two-and-half seasons, while visiting teams have been using portable rooms located between the football oval and netball courts.
Additionally, the club has been without a permanent canteen (making do with a food truck in the interim), while the strain on volunteers has also taken a severe hit, not to mention overall club morale.
Compounding the problem, it appears Traralgon footballers will also be using portable rooms this Gippsland League season, as work on a new multiuse pavilion get underway.
Construction on the new pavilion could take as long as three years, leaving the portables to contradict their very name.
The Liberals/Nationals committed to fully flood proof Traralgon Recreation Reserve at the last state election, and Pesutto said the party hadn’t deviated.
“This is a facility that needs to be upgraded and we will continue to advocate for that, we had a commitment going into the last election that would support the rebuilding of this,” he said.
“I’d love to see a clubroom that allows clubs and the broader community around to make use of the facility, that’s what other communities get around the state, this (area) is constantly overwhelmed by floodwaters and it needs to get addressed, it needed to happen yesterday.
“Clearly there is a need to rebuild this facility, this is an iconic ground for our local community, I still call it our local community because I will always be a Traralgon boy.
“Traralgon is my hometown, I was born and grew up here so it is always a real delight to come down to Traralgon and the Latrobe Valley generally.”
Floods are nothing new in Traralgon, with Pesutto remembering his boyhood days growing up on George Street, playing soccer across the road for Traralgon City and Olympians.
Only the best live on George Street.
“We lived on the creek, so the creek would overflow. It never quite got into our house, but it got awfully close, I remember I was one of five kids, mum and dad were always worried about us going outside,” he said.
“It’s a problem the community has had to deal with for generations, really this is an iconic asset this ground, and it deserves clubrooms that are fitting, and the community deserves it.”
The Traralgon Flood Recovery Project was allocated $4.75 million in the 2022/23 state budget, while Latrobe City Council committed $2 million.
A conceptual plan for the new pavilion has been drawn up, although concerns have been raised surrounding its practicality.
Currently, the Traralgon FNC changeroom building takes in home and away rooms, as well as the Traralgon Boxing Club. Function rooms are also located upstairs, used by local media to broadcast games.
The conceptual plan takes in the same amount of square meterage, but aims to fit in not only home and away rooms, but also a canteen and umpires rooms.
Foley said while the upgrade will be welcome, football would be made to suffer.
“We feel football has taken the brunt, smaller change rooms … generally we feel we are $2-3 million short,” the Traralgon FNC President said.
“It will be a nice venue when it’s built but I don’t think it will allow us to grow for the next 50 years. We’re hoping to get a women’s side in 2025, so there is an extra side that goes in there (to the changerooms). I just don’t think we’ve got a facility planned that will cater for the football side of things.”
The Maroons will play a couple of night games this season, before moving out of their changerooms and into the portables.
The existing building is expected to be demolished in May.
Despite the setbacks, Traralgon FNC has performed remarkably well in recent years.
The senior team has played finals the last two seasons, winning two of them, while there has been a sprinkling of premierships and Grand Final appearances across football and netball.
