MARYBOROUGH continues to remain optimistic it will be part of the Bendigo Football-Netball League in 2014.
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The Magpies have been the major talking point of the BFNL since December when the club put its future on the agenda when it asked the question: "Do Maryborough people want a club in a major league".
Back then the Magpies had about 20 seniors and reserves players committed for 2014, with that figure now at 40.
"We've got a good 40 (seniors and reserves) committed at the moment, and with the under-18s, it's at 15 committed and another dozen or so still deciding," Maryborough president Mick Reid said on Saturday.
"So counting the seniors and under-18 players, it's in the mid-50s at the moment, so we're confident we'll get the players and we'll be up and running... we had less players at this time last year.
"It's now just a matter of registering the players and it will be all go.
"With the under-18 situation, having 15 players committed, it won't be hard to get another five or six to get a side together."
The BFNL held a board meeting at Gisborne on Friday night where the Maryborough situation was discussed.
BFNL chairman Paul Byrne said no decision was made on Maryborough's future at the meeting and the league was still seeking more information from the Magpies on their player situation.
"The message we've been given is Maryborough is hopeful they'll get the numbers they need and will be right," Byrne said.
"We'll be having a board meeting within the next two weeks and there will be some direction known then as to whether they will get up.
"But at the moment they're hopeful they will get up, which is a good thing for the league because that's what we want for them."
With clearances now open, the Magpies can begin officially registering players.