Bendigo gearing up for 2008

by RICHARD JONES

ALL 10 Bendigo Football League senior coaching positions have been filled ahead of November 27's annual general meeting. Major controversy to be discussed at the AGM will be North City's desire to abandon the BFL after just two years of a supposed 10-year contractin order to find a spot in the Ballarat League.

North City is the senior body of the North Ballarat Junior Football Club and back at the end of 2005 could not find a spot in its home town league. Applications to both the Geelong and Bendigo leagues resulted in the brand new North City entity being granted approval to become the BFL's 10th club. No wins at all in the senior ranks in 2006 was countered by a much better season in 2007 when the Northies clinched five senior wins and eighth spot overall on the ladder.

Another issue confronting the BFL is the thorny question of the newly-formed Strathfieldsaye Football Club. Strathfieldsaye, on the southern fringes of the Bendigo urban sprawl, is the fastest growth corridor in central Victoria and already boasts an impressive line-up of junior football teams, plus a big range of netball teams in a variety of age groups.

Most opinion seems to suggest Strathfieldsaye could not become a stand-alone senior football club until 2009 at the earliest. Most football pundits see a Strath team competing in one of the neighbouring district leagues for a few seasons before even contemplating a move into the BFL. Queen Elizabeth Oval inner city-based clubs Sandhurst and South Bendigo have already held wide-ranging discussions with officials of the Strathfieldsaye FC. Officials ofthe new body have been adamant and unswerving that any merger could not proceed without the use of the name "Strathfieldsaye" in the new entity and the use of the suburb's new twin-oval complex for home games in whichever league the club plays.

Bendigo FL coaching appointments for 2008 - Castlemaine: Jamie Elliott (new); Eaglehawk: Derrick Filo (re-appointed); Gisborne: Marcus Barham (re-appointed); Golden Square: Mark Adamson (new); Kangaroo Flat: Darryl Wilson (new); Kyneton: Brett Cook (new); Maryborough: Shane Fisher (new); North City: Aaron Clark (new); Sandhurst: Kieran Nihill (new); South Bendigo: Rick Coburn(re-appointed).

Elliott, 34, played 40 AFL games for Fitzroy before crossing to Richmond in 1994 where he notched up nine games. He added another nine games to his tally when he played with St Kilda between 1996-98.

Among the interesting assistant coach/player positions are Kangaroo Flat's Rowan Warfe (26 games with Fitzroy, 84 with Sydney Swans) and Nick Carter at Golden Square. Carter played just under 30 AFL senior games with Fitzroy, Melbourne and Brisbane and has been captain of the Bendigo Bombers in the VFL for the past few seasons. He served as an assistant coach with Bombers' mentor Matthew Knights, now the top man at Essendon. Carter's brother Christian was captain of Golden Square in 2007. Kangaroo Flat's new senior coach Darryl Wilson was in charge of the Bendigo Bombers' reserves side - virtually the Essendon Threes - in the VFL fora period when Knights and Carter led the senior VFL team.

Bendigo has missed out in its bid to host the 2008 Australian Country Football Championships which it last staged in the mid-1990s. Goulburn Valley has been named as the host for the big series.

And Bendigo will play in Pool B of the 2008 bi-ennual VCFL championships against host league West Gippsland-Latrobe along with Geelong and Mornington Peninsula-Nepean.

Bendigo has been elevated to pool B after going through undefeated in the Pool C titles held at Cobram-Barooga in May, 2006.

Naming of the coach for the Blue and Golds is certain to be broached at the AGM on 27 November. Current VCFL board director Brett Fitzpatrick coached Bendigo to the Pool C title 18 months ago.

The first round of the 2008 country championships will be played on the weekend of 31 May to 1 June.

17 November 2007

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