Trafalgar one step away from joining EDFL

After a three week wait, Trafalgar Football and Netball Club have been successful in their appeal to move from the Mid Gippsland Football League to the Ellinbank and District Football League next year.

The club was denied disaffiliation by Mid Gippsland clubs, which lead them to an appeal to AFL Victoria to seek approval to move into the new league which was approved last week.
Spokesperson Brett Tonkin said it was a massive relief.

“We had 90 per cent of our members vote to move across and to be able to follow through with that and deliver on that is fantastic. We now have some clarity for juniors and can confirm our coaches and touch base with players,” Tonkin said.

Trafalgar will face one more vote before the move is official. The EDFL has scheduled a special general meeting in the coming weeks for clubs to decide, but Tonkin is hopeful that will be conducted smoothly.

“We didn’t take the move lightly, we knew it was a big one, but we wanted to secure the future of our juniors in both football and netball and see them playing senior footy at Trafalgar,” Tonkin said.
EDFL football operations manager Ken Moore said clubs would receive 21 days’ notice of the meeting.

“To accept a member club, seven of the 10 clubs have to approve the affiliation. We wouldn’t want to consider any old team, we wanted to consider a team that added value and I think Trafalgar absolutely do that, right through to the juniors,” Moore said.

The Bloods have featured in the Mid Gippsland league for 51 years, claiming nine senior flags.

Trafalgar’s attention turns to 2021 with coach Chris Kyriacou returning to lead the side once again. The veteran will turn 35 in the middle of next season, but said he is feeling good after a strong preseason, something he has kept up during lockdown.

“I’m very excited and confident, but it will also be a big challenge. My body is feeling good so I’m confident I can still play a role as a player and as a coach. We need to keep raising the bar to match sides like Longwarry and Ellinbank,” Kyriacou said.

One of the biggest rivalries will be renewed if the side is welcomed into the EDFL, with Trafalgar and Yarragon set to reignite the Waterloo Cup which was a feature when both clubs played in Mid Gippsland.

“I think it was one of the longest serving cups in Victoria and we are really looking forward to sparking that back up again, it’s always a tough match and it was a great rivalry before Yarragon left,” Kyriacou said.

Kyriacou who has won three senior flags with the Bloods said he’s confident in the brand of footy his side will bring, with the playing group much the same as last year.

“I’m really comfortable with the side we have. If we can fine tune it a little in areas we want to improve in, I think we can compete well,” Kyriacou said.

“It’s very exciting, we won’t forget our history in the Mid Gippsland, but I also see it as a new venture, I’m looking forward to hopefully creating a new legacy in this competition,” Kyriacou said.

For Tonkin and the club, it’s a chance to once again become one with the sides often split across many venues throughout the past few years. 

“Now to have our 16s and 18s playing on the same day at the same ground will be fantastic. Having our whole club playing together, it’s going to translate into a welcoming atmosphere that family and friends can stick around and not have to travel to other games,” Tonkin said.