BEYOND THE BOUNDARY – AFL BARWON CHAIR MICHELLE GERDTZ AND DEPUTY CHAIR ASH WEST
Bellarine Football Netball League president Michael Fitzgerald has welcomed the planned restructure of the administration of AFL Barwon, and at the same time putting to bed any plans for the BFNL to break away from the local governing body.
Details were released on Wednesday outlining AFL Barwon’s plans, which include the appointment of a CEO, the Bellarine and GFNL having representation on a new-look board, and the AFL Barwon brand being phased out.
“We’re certainly happy with what the announcement is,” Fitzgerald said.
“We’ve been working on it fairly closely with a couple of members – in particular (deputy chair) Ash West – from the Commission, in the last few months.
“It covers off on a lot of what we’ve asked for in the initial instance
“And it’s not just about the Bellarine, to be honest; we were certainly very much wanting both leagues -the GFNL and the BFNL – to have representation at Commission level.
Fitzgerald also views the appointment of a CEO who will report to the new board as a positive development.
“The most recent two regional general managers, Ed (Wilson) and Lisa (Patterson), the structure was changed,” he said.
“Nothing to do with them. But that structure was changed, where they became employees of AFL Victoria.
“Previous to that, the general managers of AFL Barwon answered to the Commission and reported to the Commission, whereas Ed and Lisa both had more of an AFL Victoria reporting mind.
“This model gets a senior position that will be totally focused on the competitions and that answers to the Commission.”
Fitzgerald says the proposed model is what the Bellarine would have implemented had it decided to go it alone, while also urging AFL Barwon to find the “right person” for the role.
“We would have a CEO of the Bellarine, and the CEO would have been answerable to the executive,” he said.
“This structure is totally in line with what we wanted to happen anyway.
“It’s all about the people, though. They’ll advertise the job, and you’ve got to get the right person to fill the job.
“It’s an exciting position, but the right person’s got to be in the seat to pull it off.”
One of the first tasks of the new CEO, who is expected to start in January, will be to help the Bellarine in its push for Premier League status with AFL Victoria.
Denied for 2026, Fitzgerald says attention has now turned to implementation for the following season.
“We feel that our submission stands up,” he said.
“Feedback from AFL Vic was that it was a timing issue – I’m not sure what the timing associated with it was.
“But, 18 months lead-in now, I’ll be pretty confident that we’ll get a favourable outcome.”
Fitzgerald has indicated that he will continue as president of the Bellarine in 2026, a role he has held while also serving on Modewarre’s executive.
However, he stood down from holding a title with the Warriors at last night’s AGM.
Meanwhile, GFNL president Peter Kelly, a former chair of AFL Barwon’s predecessor Football Netball Geelong and AFL Barwon commission member, told K rock Football he is “waiting for details on what shape it’s going to take”.
X: @krockfootball
