The more things change, the more they could stay the same.
Despite the Limestone Coast Regional Football Council breaking down almost every aspect of football and netball in the region to the nth degree and plotting a route forward for the sports, the key protagonists believe it is best to leave things just the way they are.
Following months of research, the LCRFC believed the next best step to take is making Penola and Kalangadoo jump from their respective current homes of the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara and Mid South Eastern leagues to a new competition with the six current Western Border clubs.
This recommendation was made after the nine-person council believed the current state of football and netball in the Limestone Coast “cannot continue to be sustainable in its current format”.
However, less than a month after the final report, the Eagles and Magpies stand united in showing their loyalty to their current homes in separate announcements on Thursday.
Following weeks of assessing what is most suitable for the future, the pair believed it was in their best interests to not make the recommended jump in 2023.
Penola and Kalangadoo will instead endeavour to continue playing in the KNT and MSE leagues respectively, while the Western Border remains a six-team competition.
The switch was the LCRFC’s short-term plan before separate country and community-based competitions were brought in to spark one of the biggest revamps in football’s 127 years of history in the region.
But unless a sudden “catalyst for change” occurs or the SANFL steps in, the three leagues we have known and loved since Tatiara joined Kowree Naracoorte in 1993 should continue to create many memorable moments for years to come.
Hear what all the key players had to say below:
League presidents at ease as impacted clubs ‘wish to stay’
