Three year sponsorship deal

Two critical cornerstones of the newly-formed Limestone Coast Football Netball League have been out in place with the securing of a three-year sponsorship deal and a final decision on junior football age groups.

The recently-inked three-year naming rights partnership will see Bendigo Bank’s Community Bank Mount Gambier & District branch continue its longstanding association with football and netball in the region until at least the end of the 2026 season.

Bendigo Bank Limestone Coast Football Netball League interim chairperson Scott Duncan said the league was thrilled to have such a respected and trusted national brand as Bendigo Bank support a new era of football in the region.

“Bendigo Bank has been a proud and committed sponsor of the Western Border Football League for many years and has made a tremendous contribution to the strength of country football in the Lower South East,” Mr Duncan said. “To have Bendigo Bank continue its support of the new league is a tremendous boost for sport in the region – it certainly stands footy and netball in the Limestone Coast region in great stead for the future.”

Locking in new junior age groups with Under 14.5 and Under 17.5 has also been a critical step in the new league formation – the change from Under 14;16 and 18 of previous seasons hopping to prove enticing to potential new clubs from the neighbouring Mid South Eastern and Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara football leagues, who currently operate similar age groups.

The Limestone Coast Football Netball League’s new football structure would see the continuation of five under-12 mixed non-premiership grades, starting from Under 8, to encourage participation and promote junior development.

Clubs are also being encouraged to consider additional teams in Under-14.5 and Under-17.5 competitions to ensure greater player development and increased senior participation in the region.

It was in October last year that the SA Football Commission endorsed final recommendations from the South East Working Group, with the immediate creation of a new Limestone Coast Football Netball League to replace Western Border Football League for 2024 and competition restructure flagged for 2025.

While the approved recommendations will see the region continue with a three-league model in 2024 and beyond, structural changes to each competition, as proposed by the working group, are expected to be implemented ahead of season 2025.

SANFL Head of Community Football Shawn Ford said the working group had listened and taken onboard local stakeholder feedback following the first round of recommendations which, balanced with population and participation data, resulted in the latest recommendations being endorsed.

“The working group was committed to achieving a sustainable outcome for football and netball in the South East region and those recommendations provided the necessary change while minimising club disruption,” Ford said.

The October announcement was accompanied by a commitment from the SANFL that in 2025, two clubs – one each from Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara and Mid South Eastern football leagues – would move to the Limestone Coast Football Netball League to create a strong eight-team competition.

“While there will be no real immediate change to league compositions in the region in 2024, we believe some structural changes, including a new-look football and netball league with refined age groups at junior level, will assist with the development and sustainability of three strong and viable leagues in the region by 2025,” Ford said.

The new league is currently being overseen by an interim executive that includes Scott Duncan, Heath Sims and Michael Mourbey – the region’s three incumbent SANFL representatives – with more announcements including branding and the 2024 Limestone Coast Football Netball League permanent executive set to follow the sponsorship and junior football structure decisions.

“Already a huge amount of work has been done to ensure we are well prepared for an exciting season 2024 and deliver competitions which ultimately grow participation and ensure a pathway from junior to senior level,” Mr Duncan said.

The 2024 netball competition will see no change with the four senior and six junior grades continuing to make up the match day schedule