MARYBOROUGH will forfeit its reserves team in the Bendigo Football Netball League due to a lack of numbers for a second week in a row this Saturday.
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However, the club remains committed to its reserves team returning to the field and playing out the season following a much-needed bye next week.
It was a case of the "perfect storm" hitting Maryborough last weekend through a combination of injury and unavailability coupled with the 90-minute trip to Gisborne forcing the Magpies to forfeit their round three game against the Bulldogs at Gardiner Reserve.
Despite playing at home this Saturday against Sandhurst the Magpies have confirmed a shortage of available players again has led to another reserves forfeit.
"Unfortunately, we won't be fielding a reserves team against Sandhurst this week," Maryborough president Scott Quinlan said on Thursday.
"Credit to Cameron Tomlins (BFNL manager), he is trying to give us as much support as he and the league can, but the one thing they can't give us is players.
"But the intention is to keep our reserves going and if we were thinking any different we would have communicated that to the other presidents after the BFNL board meeting this week."
The plight the Magpies are facing in terms of their reserves numbers led to the club earlier this week putting a social media appeal out for more players via their Facebook page.
"I'm looking at PlayHQ as we speak and I see there are three players who registered last night into the senior core," Quinlan said.
"What we need is players who can commit to both home and away games, not just home matches... it's the (reserves) numbers for away games that are the mass problem for us.
"We've got a lot of injuries at the moment; there were nine players who played in our senior team on Good Friday against Castlemaine who didn't play last week against Gisborne and that hurts."
The struggle for reserves numbers is a battle the club has constantly fought in recent years, while the Magpies also aren't fielding an A grade netball side this season.
While the lack of numbers forced the Magpies to forfeit their reserves, it also exposed the senior team to a 258-point loss to Gisborne - the heaviest defeat a BFNL senior team has copped since 1996.
"We made a decision as a collective not to train on Tuesday night and instead the boys went out for a bit of bonding at the Maryborough Highlands Society," Quinlan said.
"I think there was 40-odd lads who went along, which was good for the boys to have tea together and get around each other.
"There is still a good feeling around the club. We've got some really talented junior players with five players involved in the Bendigo Pioneers and some great young netballers, but it's just that one area (reserves numbers).
"We'll keep working through it, but the big goal for us is to get as many lads back on the back and getting the reserves team back for the South Bendigo game after the bye (on May 18)."
As well as the call-out for more footballers, the Magpies would also welcome additional volunteer support.
