By Tara Murray
Sunbury Kangaroos members will vote on whether the club will make the move to the Essendon District Football League next season.
The committee of the Riddell District Football Netball League club decided on Monday night to take the decision on which league they will play in next season to a vote.
The vote for members of the senior club will occur on October 1.
Kangaroos vice-president Mick Streiff said taking the decision to a vote was the best way moving forward with mixed views within the club.
“There are some issues for and against it [the move], so in the end we decided to go to a vote,” Streiff told Star Weekly.
“We require 75 per cent approval to make the move. Members will be sent correspondence about the vote. ”
Streiff said one of the main issues for the club was netball. In the RDFNL all clubs are meant to have four teams, but the Kangaroos have struggled for numbers.
“We only had two teams and we struggling to field full sides at times. The by-laws of the RDFNL say we are meant to have netball.”
The Kangaroos women’s team moved to the EDFL at the end of last season. The side finished third this year.
Streiff said the they had met with league to discuss the possible move.
“We have had meetings with them to get their thoughts,” he said.
“Our women’s side is competing in that competition and they are looking for a couple more clubs [in the men’s].
“They said they will look at our application if we are to put on in.”
EDFL chief executive Craig Armstead said they were definitely interested in the Kangaroos making the move across.
He said they were the only club they were talking to about moving to the league next season.
“We’ve had some conversations with them,” he said.
“We haven’t received anything formally and then this is a process to go through with AFL Vic.
“We’ve got East Sunbury in the competition and to have another Sunbury side would be great assuming that they want to come in.”
Armstead said the Sunbury area was part of the geographic area of the league.
All of East Sunbury’s sides are in the league, while the Kangaroos women’s side and Sunbury Lions’ female sides are all in the competition.
Armstead said having had the women’s side in the competition already, it gave both sides the opportunity to develop relationships.
“It helps. We get to know them.
“The Sunbury Kangaroos get exposure to EDFL clubs and they can get an idea of what it will be like.”
While the Sunbury Kangaroos senior club could be on the move, the Sunbury Kangaroos Junior Football Netball Club will remain in the RDFNL next season.
The junior club informed AFL Goldfields of its decision on Monday night.
