COLAC'S only football club the Colac Otway Rovers AFC are set to play their home games at a brand new two-pitch facility in Colac as of 2020, following the purchase of land formerly owned by the Victorian State Education Department by the Colac Otways Shire Council.

PHOTO: Colac Otway Rovers AFC secretary Sam Hare standing at the site of the proposed new ground off Ross Street (Photo: Tonci Prusac)

For a club which has been forced to play all its home matches on ‘a cow paddock in the middle of nowhere’ in Beeac some 20 minutes from the rural township, the proposed relocation effectively means the club will be able to not only attract but retain a significant number of potential junior players from Colac.

Rovers’ secretary Sam Hare is excited about the proposed move to the former secondary school site off Ross Street, claiming the club will finally be in a position to grow its numbers.

“Last year when we ran the Harry Kewell Football Clinic, we had more than 110 kids turn up midweek. Our problem has always been retaining them. The move to the new facility will change all that,” explained Hare.

“Apart from Aussie Rules and Netball, there is not much else for young kids to play in Colac. More and more kids (and their parents) don’t see footy as an option, as they consider it to be too rough a sport.

“As such, we have had immense interest in our sport and our club, but with the difficulty of getting kids out to Beeac our numbers have stagnated over the past few years,” she said, adding the appetite is there for an explosion in the growth of registered football participants.

With the loss of a junior Boys’ team coupled with one less Men’s senior team, the numbers at the Rovers plummeted in 2018 but Hare is confident that will turnaround in 2019.

“Shortly we will be running our own in-house Juniors’ tournament in the off season and with the excitement being generated about the future home ground, I am certain we will grow our numbers quickly,” she explained.

Hare did warn there was still plenty of work to do.

“We hope for all the land to be signed over to Council by December of this year, then comes the hard part of funding the development of the pitch and amenities.

“The next step will involve applying for grants, seeking funding from local and state government as well as organising many club working bees.

“But the future is certainly looking bright for both the Colac Otway Rovers, as well as for the sport of football in Colac,” she concluded.