Embattled Parkside will compete in the Western Region Football League’s division 3 this season as part of an extraordinary rebuilding measure.
The Magpies were promoted to the top flight after winning division 2 last year but lost swathes of players during summer, which threatened to cripple their chances of fielding competitive seniors and reserves sides in 2015.
The WRFL came to the rescue last week, offering a chance for the Magpies to rejuvenate in the third division, and the move was rubber-stamped after consultations with all key stakeholders, including opposition clubs.
WRFL chief executive Bob Tregear described what would have been a catastrophic outcome for the club had this decision not been made.
“Following a lengthy period of engagement and negotiation with club officials, the WRFL board met today and decided the only way to keep the Parkside Football Club alive was to allow them to start again in division 3 and
treat the season 2015 as a rebuilding year,” Tregear said.
“Parkside is one of our oldest clubs, so to provide them with an opportunity to survive and work on their list is a decision we were willing to make.”
Not all parties are going to be happy with the reshuffle. The division 1 competition will now have a bye inserted – not the ideal scenario for the top level of football in the west. But the move has at least eliminated the bye in an eight-team division 3 competition.
Parkside still faces the massive challenge of establishing a playing list. It will do so under new coach Nathan Boyd, whose tenure was announced on Monday. Boyd has VFL experience as both a player and on coaching panels at the Casey Scorpions and Box Hill Hawks.
Lance Jenkinson
