OUTGOING Bendigo Football-Netball League general manager Dennis Bice expects club sustainability on and off the field to continue to be high on the agenda for his replacement.
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After just under 11 months in the role of BFNL general manager and AFL Central Victoria operations manager, Bice signs off from the roles on Friday to take up his new position as Be.Bendigo chief executive officer starting Monday.
Asked on Thursday what he believes is the key priority for his replacement, Bice says club sustainability.
“That’s not only off the field, but on the field as well in terms of playing numbers with both football and netball, so I’m sure that’s going to continue to be an important focus,” Bice said.
“We’ve clearly been working with Maryborough from a football point of view and Kyneton from a netball perspective, so that work will need to continue.
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“It’s important to make sure the clubs have the right committee structures and governance and they are heading in the right direction financially, so that’s going to be important.
“Also going forward the BFNL has a very clear strategic plan based around what the competition might look like in five years time, so that’s something that whoever is appointed will need to be heavily involved in as well with the board.
“Overall, though, I think the league is in a really good state. The board has its strategic plan on what it wants to do going forward and the clubs are working well together.
READ MORE: BE.BENDIGO APPOINTS DENNIS BICE AS CEO
“Off-field the league is in a good spot and on-field the footy last year was fantastic and the netball was exceptional and probably the standout for me… it’s a top competition with quality players that has a lot to offer.”
Following his 11 months running the BFNL, Bice believes an area that could be strengthened is the relationship between the AFLCV commission and its leagues.
“There’s a few things from my perspective that need to be looked at, one of which is a closer working association between the commission and its leagues in terms of what is the future of football and netball in this area,” Bice said.
“I’ve always been really strong on planning and strategic around what needs to be done, so I think there’s still a bit of work to be done in that space for the area.”