May 14, 2014

The Lindenow Football and Netball Club won’t give up on its Under 18 season despite struggling for players in the first two rounds of 2014.

Recent speculation has been mounting that the club would put the team into recess for the rest of the season just seven months after winning the premiership and disperse players to rival clubs.

However, coach Brendan Woodward, who endured a horror off-season in which 17 premiership players left, has not given up on a recruiting drive which he hopes will keep the team on the park.

He said losing so many players from last year had devastated his playing resources.

“It’s pretty hard to field a side when you lose three quarters of your team from the previous year,” Woodward said.

“In a small town like Lindenow we just don’t have enough players coming through from the age bracket below to top up when so many leave.

“In the first two rounds I’ve been scratching to have eight players rock up and be ready to go.

“Our club is great family friendly environment but it’s also 20 minutes from Bairnsdale which means I need parents to drive their kids past the three clubs in town to get them here and that has always been a massive challenge.”

Woodward said the mass exodus was due to a number of factors out of his and the club’s control.

“I’ve lost two to serious injury, three to the Gippsland League, one to school in Melbourne and one to an apprenticeship interstate. The rest are now over-age and either playing in our seniors and reserves or can’t play because of university or work commitments,” Woodward said.

“In total we now have eight Lindenow junior players participating in the same age bracket in the Gippsland League, which is over a third of a side.

“We’re fully supportive of our young men playing at the highest possible level but you can’t shy away from the fact that it has a major impact on teams which only have a small population to draw on.”

Lindenow president Andrew Whitbourne said it would be a tragedy to fold the team for 2014.

“We’ve battled through the first few weeks and as a club we want to continue but the situation will become untenable if we can’t find another half a dozen or more players,” Whitbourne said.

“If anyone knows of a young player that might be interested in helping us out they should give Brendan or myself a call.”

Brendan Woodward can be contacted on 0419 265 841 and Andrew Whitbourne can be contacted on 0409 439 280.