Casey’s clubs let a friend run free

By Gavin Staindl
THE majority of Casey Cardinia’s league presidents voted last week in favour of Devon Meadows’s request to move leagues – but you can rest assured none of them wanted the club to leave.
Doveton president Stuart Batten summed up the feeling of the 10 league presidents when he said he was sad to see the Panthers go, but voted for their departure in the hope it may save the struggling club from folding.
“Every week in the papers you see another club folding and you don’t want it to happen to a good club like them (Devon Meadows),” Batten said.
“I didn’t want them to go, but at the end of the day if this move means they will survive then by all means go.
“It was a strange feeling though, I’ve met a lot of great people from Devon and it’s sad to see them leave.”
Devon Meadows’ future was voted on at a meeting of league presidents last week and with a vote of 10-2 the club’s request to move to the Nepean Football League was upheld.
But for the 10 teams remaining in the Casey Cardinia league, especially the smaller clubs, the impact of the decision may become a burden.
“It’s a difficult scenario for small clubs like ourselves,” Tooradin president Derek Genoni said “and I’m not sure if it’s going to get any easier.”
Such was the revenue Tooradin drew from the annual derby games against Devon Meadows that last season the Gulls made only $280 less than the game they hosted featuring Brendan Fevola.
Even Cranbourne president Gerry Kelly admitted his side will lose out on gate-keepings generated by the local rivalry with Devon Meadows.
The remaining 10 clubs will also be expected to foot the bill when the competition extends to an 18-round season in 2013.
While Devon Meadows ultimately became a town suffocated by its superior surroundings, don’t expect other clubs in similar circumstances to go looking for the safety of outside leagues.
Despite the ongoing pressure of Casey Cardinia’s “small clubs” to keep up with the “highway sides”, Genoni said his side that only three months ago inquired into a league switch, would not move.
“We’re 100 per cent committed to the league,” Genoni said.
“Clubs like us (Tooradin and Devon Meadows) are small players in the league because we don’t have the population to draw juniors from.
“I can’t see any big changes in terms of the size of clubs… but we’re committed to Casey Cardinia and we’ll just have to continue our recruitment drive to get player numbers down to our club.”