Former Football Geelong CEO Phil Clohesy has been confirmed as heading up the group that will review the circumstances that have left Lara without senior and reserves football and A-grade netball teams for the 2026 GFNL season.
AFL Barwon chief Kate Patterson, who is also part of what has been labelled the Future Planning Group (FPG), told K rock Football’s Beyond the Boundary podcast on March 11 that Clohesy would be chair.
Clohesy, who was Football Geelong’s inaugural CEO when the Geelong and Bellarine leagues brought their administration under one roof in 1997, also spent time at Royal Geelong Yacht Club and is the current chair of the Barwon Sports Academy.
Established by the Lara Sporting Club, the FPG has been tasked with three key areas.
- Analyse the reasons why the football and netball clubs have reached the current situation.
- Develop a realistic return-to-competition model for Senior Football.
- Recommend structural, cultural, and operational changes required to support sustained on-field performance and off-field excellence, ensuring long-term viability across the Football and Netball sections.
“Our Board has designed a charter that sets FPG’s role to recommend a viable, sustainable pathway across the entire Football and Netball programs, including Senior and Junior Netball, and Senior Men’s Football, Senior Women’s Football, and all Junior Football teams. It operates as a strategic, time-bound working group, focused on long-term success rather than short-term participation,” Lara Sporting Club president Louise Goodwin said.
Joining Clohesy and Patterson on the FPG are AFL Barwon football boss Sarah Naylor and retired AFL Regional Manager Bruce Petering.
Representing Lara are Shana Miatke (netball), Mark Guthrie (football) and Jason Hewitt (juniors).
“We are particularly pleased that AFL Barwon is an active participant in the working party,” Goodwin said.
“The support and advice of the AFL Board is much appreciated.”
The FPG is expected to make its recommendations by July 2026.
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