KYABRAM District Football Netball League has swollen to a record 15 clubs after Shepparton East got the green light just before Christmas to join its ranks.
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Shepparton East’s application was approved at a meeting between KDFNL and AFL Goulburn Murray administrators.
It will be Shepparton East’s third league in as many years.
Last year it played in the Picola League and this year in the Murray League.
A bid to rejoin Picola for 2019 was recently rejected after it missed the application deadline by a day.
But the Kyabram League always looked a better fit, particularly geographically, for the club known as ‘the Eagles.’
The fact that no club in the Kyabram League operates under the an Eagles banner was another plus in the move.
Shepparton East’s rival for the opening round will be league battler Longwood.
But with Nick Brown, Longwood’s coach for the past two seasons, taking the reins at Shepparton East there will be now added interest in that season pipe opener.
Shepparton East is not expected to worry the best sides in the competition in its new league as it is in rebuilding mode after mass player departures at the end of the 2018 season.
In making the announcement of Shepparton East’s new home AFL GM region general manager Jamie Macri said “we want to ensure Shepp East can remain a viable club and continue to positively contribute to that community”.
Macri said it was important to find Shepp East a practical and favourable outcome and thanked the KDFNL for supporting the application.
■KYABRAM District Football Netball League has a new president.
Fraser Kerrins was elected at the league’s recent AGM to take the reins from Wayne Ryan, who has been at the helm for the past four years.
At 33 Fraser will certainly be one of the youngest presidents in the league’s history but he has had plenty of footy experience at the grassroots of the game.
He is from the well-known footballing dynasty, with his grandfather, the late Pat Kerrins, a Tatura and GVL stalwart.
Fraser’s father, Michael, has a long association with the KDL cub Murchison-Toolamba and was president there for eight years, including 2013, its last premiership year.
Fraser has also been a stalwart of the Murchison club, playing an odd game in the reserves but holding down many administrative and support roles including the vital treasurer’s portfolio.
An accountant in Shepparton, Fraser was targeted to join the KDL board last year because of his financial skills, which the league believes will be of great benefit in his new role.
Fraser has already confirmed the finals structure in the KDL in 2019 will remain a final six and played over four weeks.
The September 21 grand final will again be hosted at Mooroopna.
■YOUTHFUL Kyabram cricketer Charlie McLay will be rubbing shoulders with some Aussie cricketing history.
Charlie has been named in the Allstars side, joining some former Australian players, to meet this year’s Australian Country X1 at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton, tonight.
The match is a lead into the National Country Cricket Championships being hosted by Shepparton from January 3-11.
Charlie is one six young Cricket Shepparton players who will team up in a Twenty20 clash under lights at Deakin Reserve.
Other young Cricket Shepparton players in the Allstars side are Tatura’s Michael Archer, Northerners Joel Brett, Waaia’s Mitch Cleland and Central Park-St Brendan’s duo Connor Hayes and Aidem Lloyd.
■COBRAM Cricket Club has acted quickly to secure the services of star South African recruit Wian Van Zyl for next season.
Before Christmas the run-making machine made 64 in Cobram’s second innings to become the club’s record run maker in a season.
It took Van Zyl’s run aggregate for the season past the club record of 796 runs, set 20 years ago by Cobram legend Steve Gemmill in the 1996-97 season.
Gemmill’s runs were accumulated over a full season, Van Zyl still has four two-day games to complete the home away season in the premier grade of Murray Valley Cricket.
Cobram Cricket Club president Paul Hyde realised Van Zyl’s fabulous batting feats this season were no do doubt being keenly scrutinised by other clubs, that might be tempted to poach him for next season.
So he acted and Cobram has already got a commitment from the South African to line-up with it again next season.
Signings as early as this are not common in country cricket.
The amazing part of the Van Zyl success story is that he was overlooked by many country clubs seeking an overseas player for the current season and Cobram was the only one prepared to give him a go.
He has certainly rewarded their faith.
■IN THESE columns two week ago former Colbinabbin footy star Phillip ‘Toot’ Morgan was credited with playing in 10 premierships in a list of the most decorated players in terms of winning senior premierships at senior level in Victoria since World War II.
In fact it was seven, and not 10, with five of his flag wins achieved with his hometown club.
■THERE will be a new winner of the Southern 80 ski race early next year.
The ‘Merc Force’ team, who have won the Echuca-Torrumbarry blockbuster for the past two years, will not be back to defend their title.
Merc Force skiers Kris Knights and Jake Tegart have retired and with them missing, observer Kevin Boylan and driver Don Gulley, decided to call it a day.
■PICOLA and District Football Netball League’s decision not to affiliate with AFL Goulburn Murray this year is now proving a logistical nightmare.
As it prepares to rejoin AFL Goulburn Murray ranks it has had to deal with 270 clearances – both ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ – lodged between August and November as a direct result of having a unaffiliated league status.
Players can cross to, or be recruited from, unaffiliated leagues without a clearance to play in affiliated leagues.
Which is what occurred this season.
Some players were even unaware they had been transferred to another league without their knowledge.
■FLINGANDWINGIT is a young trotter bred to be smart.
And the Kyabram owned youngster has shown he is exactly that in his brief racetrack career to date and which produced his first win recently Melton.
It was in a heat of the Home Grown Classic and the youngster was going to run second in the $50,000 final last Saturday week at Melton but galloped himself out of the placings.
Flingandwingit, owned by Kyabram’s Peter Hall and John Linford and Katunga studmaster Craig Judd, is by Mr Vic stallion Fling It – and has a rich immediate maternal side.
His dam, the Keystone Salute mare Maybe Hall was a racetrack star with the South Australian Trotters Cup among her 23 race wins and 34 placings from 91 starts.
And Maybe Hall has also made her mark in the breeding barn since her racing days and is the dam of the smart performer Maybetothemax, a winner of 13 races and almost $90 000 in prizemoney earnings.
■KYABRAM trots trainer Mark Watson enjoyed another win with his improving pacer Here Comes Sharkie at a recent Swan Hill meeting.
Here Comes Sharkie was driven to victory by concession reinsman Darby McGuigan.
It was the five-year-old pacer’s third win in his last four starts and his fifth career in 19 starts.
And he was trying to improve that record at last night’s Echuca meeting.