MORE than three years of hard work will reap its reward on Saturday when the Strathfieldsaye Storm takes to the field for its historic debut game in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football-Netball League.
The push for a senior football-netball club to be based in the booming suburb of Strathfieldsaye began gathering serious momentum in late 2005.
Throughout 2006, 2007 and 2008, the prospect of a new Strathfieldsaye-based club was one of the major talking points of the central Victorian football community.
Debate raged about the merits of a stand-alone or merged club with the Strathfieldsaye Junior Football Club being formed, and whether the new club should enter a major or minor league.
On Saturday, with all the debate now behind it and the club’s future direction set, Strathfieldsaye will clash with Castlemaine at Tannery Lane.
In the second of a two-part series, The Advertiser’s LUKE WEST continues to look at the path Strathfieldsaye has taken to get to round one of the BFL season.
June 27, 2008: Strathfieldsaye officially begins the push to become the BFL’s 10th club in 2009.
The committee of the new Strathfieldsaye Football-Netball Club nominates the BFL as its preferred option to play in next year.
The other option for Strathfieldsaye was to seek admittance into the Heathcote District Football League, but after resounding community support, the club is prepared to make the leap straight to major league level.
“I believe with the things we have put in place we are in a position where we can go into the BFL and look at the long-term picture. It’s not just about tomorrow or next year, it’s about having a sustainable club for Strathfieldsaye for the next 10, 15, 20 years. But we’re just asking the community to bear in mind that to run, we have to crawl first,’’ Strathfieldsaye president Ray Patterson says.
However, Strathfieldsaye will need to convince the BFL of its long-term viability before joining the competition next year.
“We’ve been having discussions with Strathfieldsaye for a little while now to make sure they get all the right things off the field in place, so that for their own benefit, they are sustainable and have the right plans and infrastructure in place,’’ BFL chief executive officer Steven Oliver says.
Meanwhile, where Strathfieldsaye will recruit its players from appears to be the biggest concern BFL club presidents have about the new club’s desire to enter next year.
July 3, 2008: The president of the last club to enter the BFL advises Strathfieldsaye to be patient.
“They need to be patient and have faith in what they are doing, and they need to have a solid development plan in place for both on and off the field for the long term,’’ says Paul Leahy, who was president of North City when it gained entry into the BFL in 2006.
July 11, 2008: Any alignment between Strathfieldsaye and the Bendigo Bombers next year would be opposed by the majority of BFL clubs.
The BFL board has issued a discussion paper to its clubs in the wake of Strathfieldsaye signalling its intention to join the league next year.
The discussion paper surrounds the make-up of Strathfieldsaye’s playing list, and includes three possible options.
Among the options presented is that should the Bombers choose not to field a side in the VFL reserves competition next year, any Bombers player who doesn’t get a senior VFL game would play for Strathfieldsaye that week.
“All I would say is if the Bendigo Bombers are prepared to approach us, we would sit down and talk to them,’’ Patterson says.
July 24, 2008: Strathfieldsaye ticks one of its major boxes as it continues to push forward in its bid to join the BFL.
Strathfieldsaye IGA is announced as the club’s first naming rights sponsor.
September 6, 2008: The BFL announces it has accepted Strathfieldsaye to join in 2009, ensuring it will return to a 10-team competition and eliminate the bye.
“Following on from a detailed submission by Strathfieldsaye to the BFL last week, which detailed its business case and community plan, we are now in a position to grant Strathfieldsaye a licence within our league,’’ BFL chairman Damian Drum says.
“With so many small country football clubs struggling to field teams right across the state, forcing many clubs to merge, this announcement of a brand new senior football club being established is a truly historic occasion.’’September 13, 2008: The BFL’s newest club next year will be known as the Strathfieldsaye Storm.
It’s believed Strathfieldsaye is the first Australian Rules Football Club to be known as the Storm.
As well as the club’s nickname confirmed, Strathfieldsaye will wear the colours of its junior sides - a blue and white hooped guernsey.
The club’s logo depicts a lightning bolt in the shape of a letter S through the blue and white colours.
October 17, 2008: Clint Whitsed, a premiership player with Goulburn Valley Football League club Rochester the previous month, is announced as Strathfieldsaye’s inaugural coach.
For 33-year-old Whitsed, it will be his first senior coaching position, but the fourth newly-established club he has been part of.
Whitsed has previously been part of the inaugural lists of TAC Cup club Murray Bushrangers in 1993, plus VFL clubs Bendigo Diggers in 1998 and Bendigo Bombers in 2003.”Those experiences should help with this year because when you are trying to get a whole heap of new guys to create something . . . those other three experiences were really exciting for me and this just builds on that. You only get one chance to be the first at something, and this is one of those opportunities,’’ Whitsed says.
November 22, 2008: Strathfieldsaye’s recruiting campaign has landed 30 players as the club continues to build towards its debut BFL season.
“A lot of the guys we have signed are good, young guys who are playing as good a footy as they are going to play with the clubs they were at this year and they are willing to step up and have a crack,’’ Whitsed says.
November 27, 2008: The 2009 BFL draw is released, with Strathfieldsaye handed a home game first-up against Castlemaine on April 11. The Storm then faces a difficult three weeks with consecutive matches against Eaglehawk, South Bendigo and Golden Square, which all made the finals last year.
April 8, 2009: In the week leading up to its first game, the Storm announces Jono Gawthrop will be its captain, with ruckman Michael Pilcher to be the vice-captain.
Whitsed says not getting carried away by all the hype will be one of the major challenges in the Storm’s upcoming first game against Castlemaine.
“There has been a fair amount of focus from the footy world, not just close to home, but right around Victoria,’’ Whitsed says.
“One of the biggest challenges will be trying not to be carried away by the occasion, but focusing on playing really well as a team.’’
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