AFL Goulburn Murray Commissioners Wayne Limbrick and Greg Freer were re-elected for the next three years at the Commission’s Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 31 March at AFL Goulburn Murray offices.
Both men have long standing and significant contributions to local football and the community in general over a number of years. Limbrick has been a past President, Treasurer and Life Member of Nathalia FNC and a Murray Football League Board member and Freer has been Mooroopna FNC President as well as a GVFUA umpire, committee member and life member.
A constitutional amendment was also passed at the meeting with the Commission now having scope to expand from seven to nine members. Chairman Nicholas Rolfe, Peter Foott and Peter Nelson remain as the AFL Victoria appointees with Andrew Chittick and Nick Nagle also continuing in their role.
Two seats at the Commission table now remain vacant with potential candidates to be the topic of discussion at a future meeting.
AFL Goulburn Murray Chairman Nicholas Rolfe welcomed Limbrick and Freer for another term and paid tribute to the VCFL which wound up recently after 90 years.
"Wayne and Greg are both foundation members of the Commission and they have been valuable contributors to our strategic direction over our first three years" he said.
"Now that the transition period of the new structure has been completed the Commission is now well established and looking forward to continuing its progress."
"The 2014-15 season was a very rewarding one with significant progress made against our strategic objectives and there are some exciting programs lined up for 2016."
"The Commission would also like to acknowledge David Roff, Wayne Ryan, Chris Thomas, Ray Steyger and the respective executive and clubs of the GVFL, KDFNL, SDJFL and SDJFNL for their work and the strong collaborative relationships which have developed with staff in the office."
"As services and programs continue to develop and be implemented in partner Leagues its important to note that as has been stated and written on numerous occasions those who are merely affiliates cannot expect to receive the same level of service as those leagues that have joined the Region Administration Centre."
"The Commission also acknowledges the significant contribution of the VCFL to country football and with the recent winding up of the organisation the responsibility of governance and operations is passed to regional Commissions and AFL Victoria Country."
The Commission’s annual report was also presented to members with the theme being a significant increase in the delivery of services and programs amidst a strong financial performance.
Driven by the region’s Strategic Plan some of the key highlights of the 2014-2015 year include:
- 11 new football teams starting up in the Shepparton District JFL Junior Division in the past two years
- The growth of Auskick with four new centres taking the region’s tally to 50 centres and over 2,100 participants
- The introduction of the Northern Angels in the Youth Girls competition
- The establishment of a Youth Girls Academy in partnership with the Murray Bushrangers and Bendigo Pioneers
- The successful transition of the GVFL administration into the office at AFL Goulburn Murray and the strong working relationships developed with GVFL clubs
- Junior Development workshops held at all KDFNL clubs to establish individual Junior Development Plans and the delivery of two U18 Development Days for KDFNL players featuring sessions from Headspace, Victoria Police, TAC CUP coaches and the GVFUA
- The delivery of Club Umpire Workshops involving 55 club volunteers at three different venues
- Delivery of an Umpires Seminar in June with over 100 GVFUA members and AFL Umpires Hayden Kennedy and Chelsea Roffe
- Delivery of a pre-season Tribunal Seminar involving representatives from all Leagues
- The discovery and research process for player points and salary caps involving data collection, workshops and presentations to assist in the set up of the first phase of the Community Club Sustainability Program for 2016
- The Umpire Diversity Academy with 16 participants from non-English speaking backgrounds participating. The Academy culminated with participants officiating in the Shepparton v Benalla U18 game on 13 June. Over half of the Academy’s participants had officiated formally with the GVFUA by the end of the season.
- Introduction of a Health Services Strategy to promote the broader role of football netball clubs in the community which drove four key initiatives:
1. The Man Up event held in April in partnership with Headspace discussing men’s mental health involved over 200 footballers
2. The implementation of the Outside The Locker Room (OTLR) program. Through a Bendigo Health partnership 2,297 participants from 16 GVFL, KDFNL, Shepparton DJFL and MFL clubs were involved in mentoring sessions covering drugs, alcohol, bullying, responsible decision making, personal branding and nutrition
3. The development of a Health Services Directory as a free resource for volunteers providing leads and information regarding valuable services which clubs may need from time to time
4. The GVFL, KDFNL, Shepparton DJFL U16 and Seymour DJFNL U16 held ‘Step. Back. Think’ themed rounds on 12, 13 and 20 June and the GVFL supplemented that with a ‘Report Racism’ round on 18 July. The KDFNL conducted their annual ‘Say No To Violence’ round with great effect on 16 May.
Last Modified on 06/04/2016 11:35