GFNL presidents are set to meet tonight to discuss fixture options for the 2026 season following Lara’s withdrawal from senior and reserve grade football last week.
It follows a meeting of club leaders with AFL Barwon last Thursday, where four options were tabled.
The least likely option, and the one the local governing body is keen to avoid, is that if a club is scheduled to play the Cats, it would have a bye.
That would see seven clubs play only 16 games, while four clubs would be scheduled for 17 matches.
It’s considered undesirable as it would result in a ‘match ratio’ ladder and call the integrity of best-and-fairest voting for the Mathieson and Allthorpe medals into question.
Also on the table are maintaining the season at 18 rounds and all clubs playing 16 games, or joining the Bellarine in extending to 20 rounds to keep an 18-match season.
If the 18-round, 16-game option is adopted, Round 1 will likely be pushed back to the Anzac Day weekend, and the league-wide bye on May 23 will be scrapped.
It is understood that part of this option is those clubs who were scheduled to play Lara once – Bell Park, Newtown & Chilwell, St Albans, and St Joseph’s – would lose a match-up with one of the other three clubs to bring them back to 16 games.
However, the Supersaints and Joeys were only scheduled to meet once in the original fixture.
The 20-round option would bring Round 1 forward to April 11 and remove the same bye as in the 18-round scenario.
AFL Barwon is keen to ensure Lara’s netball section plays against a club that has a bye.
It is understood there are mixed views on whether the salary cap should be adjusted if fewer games are scheduled.
The Commission is due to meet tomorrow night, with an updated fixture to be released the following day.
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Meanwhile, the vacancy on the AFL Barwon Commission has been filled by the AFL’s first accredited female player agent, Lucy Cammiss.
Cammiss founded talent management agency The Lighthaus and remains the organisation’s managing director.
“Growing up in the Barwon region, this is where my passion for sport was sparked, and I know what an integral role AFL and netball play in bringing the communities here together,” she said in a statement.
“I am delighted to be joining the AFL Barwon Commission and playing my role to advance AFL and netball in this great region.”
Cammiss is the second casual vacancy appointment in recent months, joining Megan Love in filling positions vacated by the resignations of Diana Murase and Mark Wilkin.
Three positions remain vacant on the Commission, with two of those to be filled by a representative from the Bellarine and Geelong leagues at AFL Barwon’s Annual General Meeting on February 25.
That is subject to proposed changes to AFL Barwon’s constitution.
It is expected that the respective league presidents, Michael Fitzgerald (BFNL) and Todd Devine (GFNL), will be the nominees.
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