‘Overwhelming’ backing: Gisborne votes to leave Bendigo league

GISBORNE Football Netball Club members have ratified the committee’s decision to leave the Bendigo Football Netball League and join the Ballarat Football Netball League in 2026.

A vote of club members on Thursday night, August 21, delivered what Bulldogs president Tony Brancatisano declared an ‘overwhelming’ result in favour of the move.

The final vote was 193-20, with 11 members recorded as abstaining.

The thumbs up from Bulldogs members – many of them current footballers and netballers – followed the almost unanimous endorsement by Ballarat league clubs at a special meeting the previous week.

That vote was 46-4.

Buoyed by the 86 per cent Yes vote, Brancatisano was thrilled to get a second big tick of approval in eight days.

“We couldn’t be happier to have gotten past this stage (the club vote); now we just look to see what Bendigo does in response,” he said.

“As I tell people, this club belongs to the players and members and they’ve voted to go, so they’ve got to let them go.”

Brancatisano praised the support and respect afforded his club by the Ballarat league during the entire process.

“We presented well – and that’s not bragging. The biggest thing we did when we presented to Ballarat was to not talk about grand finals, but to talk about our club culture and the bond between the girls and the boys,” he said.

“They are so close the two groups. Our club is not just about senior men’s football, It’s about five netball teams, two women’s (football teams) and three men’s teams.

“A lot of clubs focus on one group of men; our club is not like that.

“It’s about the whole group and that’s what our club is.”

Having successfully cleared two major hurdles, the Ballarat league will have until August 30 to lodge the official paperwork for a transfer.

It will then be up to the Bendigo league to appeal or approve the decision.

Brancatisano admitted to feeling relieved by the overwhelming result of the vote.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got this across the line, now we have to keep going,” he said.

“It’s a good start.

“You want it to be a good vote, not just getting over the line and we’ve achieved that.

“We look at the travel; we travel up there (to Bendigo) every second week – other clubs come down here once a year.

“(In the Ballarat league), we’ll play 12 or so games here in this area and then go five or six games to Ballarat.”

The Bendigo league previously indicated its desire for the Bulldogs to remain put in a statement issued on June 24.

“The BFNL board recognises that Gisborne’s club vision and community connections are evolving but given the club’s 20-plus year relationship with the BFNL, we anticipate that Gisborne FNC will remain in the BFNL for 2026,” BFNL chair Carol McKinstry said.

“Should Gisborne FNC submit their intent to transfer, the BFNL board will evaluate the transfer request thoroughly, with consideration for our league and our broader football netball ecosystem.”