Anew plan is emerging for a home league for Casterton Sandford Football Netball Club in 2024.

Cats’ vice president, Shane Foster said his club had hosted a meeting of representatives from the four existing Western Border Mount Gambier sides and Millicent, as well as football and netball representatives from the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara league’s Penola club, to discuss a seven-team league emerging, next season.

“To have any hope of making it work, the Mount Gambier clubs had to make some pretty significant sacrifices as far as junior football and netball goes and to their credit, they were 100% on board for making those sacrifices, to make a more sustainable system for clubs from smaller communities, like Casterton and any others that join us in the future,” Foster said.

The move comes after two years of meetings and working parties governed by the South Australian National Football League, which said earlier this year it would force a change to league structures in the south east of South Australia, to solidify the future of country football in the region.

SANFL’s final proposed restructure was the disbandment of the Western Border Football League, with three of the four Mount Gambier teams and Millicent joining the KNTFL, while Casterton and East Gambier would join the existing Mid South Eastern league teams.

There were also approaches made to former Western Border clubs, Hamilton and Portland, to cross back over the border and join a new-look league; both clubs declined the requests.

The restructure proposal was also vehemently opposed by the KNTFL.

Foster said SANFL had now returned the restructure process to the clubs – a move which Casterton Sandford welcomed.

“As clubs, we felt we had more ability to steer this thing ourselves, communicate among ourselves and ensure there will be measures in place to ensure things go as smoothly as possible, there’s a strong future for all the clubs involved,” he said.

“And this will not be the Western Border Football League or netball association.

“It will be a new league from the ground-up, with a major restructure to junior football one of the main focuses … we’ll probably see an Under 17.5 and Under 14.5 football competition, then another junior grade, below that.”

He said the Cats believed the addition of Penola to the existing team list would strengthen the competition across both netball and football, potentially attracting further clubs in the future and strengthening participating clubs’ positions, when it came to recruiting.

“Penola coming in, sees this as a better fit for them than the Kowree Naracoorte league,” he said.

“In the netball, they have got one team that’s played one game in six weeks, because not all the clubs field netball sides in all grades and the junior football reality is that every second week, they’re lucky if they get a full team.

“And it’s the same with us, we have got this team of Under 14s who are battling along, but they cannot get a full team either.

“If we can get this new league going, the point of difference is that we will work together to ensure all clubs can field all sides, regularly.”

He said despite the South West District Football League’s decision to engage in a junior competition – one of the concerns raised by members when they rejected a move to that league several years ago – the club still considered it “not the right fit” for the Cats.

“There are still a lot of flaws in the South West league at this point in time, not all the clubs can field all the sides required,” Foster said.

The Penola club is expected to take a vote with members in coming weeks, over the new league proposal.

It is unknown, if the new league goes ahead, whether SANFL will continue to discuss or attempt to implement restructure or other changes, for the other two south east South Australian leagues.

Further information about the proposed new league and inter-club discussions will be published, as they come to light.