Gisborne is considering a move to the Ballarat Football Netball League as it assesses what is best for the long term future of the club.
The club started looking at the process about 10 months ago, with information provided to players and club members recently.
The club currently plays in the Bendigo Football Netball League but has concerns over the standard of the competition.
Bulldogs president Tony Brancatisano said there had been more traction on maybe making the call to move in the past four months.
“The Bendigo league doesn’t seem to be getting any better, so we need to look at the future of the club for the next five years,” he said.
“We want to have a proper look at it.”
Brancatisano said they had concerns about the standard dropping, with the competition having lost Kyneton and Maryborough from the competition in recent years.
He said the competition wasn’t balanced with some teams playing each other three times saying that a premier competition should have 10 teams.
Broadford is aiming to field sides next year, but have yet to appoint a senior football coach as it comes out of recess.
There had been talk about Moama joining the competition in 2027, which Brancatisano said was too far for the club to travel which they have expressed to the league.
Brancatisano said they would likely put something into the Ballarat league by the end of the month, with a club vote to follow.
He said the players have the majority of the vote.
“Sometimes when you put change on the table, there is a little bit of push back,” he said. “When you put the facts on the table this is where they are going, it gives then something to thing about.
“We gave them a hard copy so they can sit and have a look at it.”
Brancatisano said they needed to make sure the decision they made was the right fit for everybody, both netballers and footballers.
He said at this stage their female football program would remain in the Essendon District Football League with it being a stronger, more established competition than the Ballarat competition.
One of the biggest pluses for the move to the Ballarat competition, was playing against the likes of the Sunbury Lions, Bacchus Marsh, Darley and Melton.
All four clubs are closer than the Bendigo league. Melton, Darley and the Sunbury Lions all played against Gisborne in the Riddell district league before the clubs seeking stronger competition.
Brancatisano said their biggest crowd of the year was the annual practice match with the Sunbury Lions.
“There are four sides around us,” he said. “We are in the middle of them.
“For the gate and bar, it would be a lot better. Financially it would be better for us in the Ballarat competition.
“We will take everything into consideration, as it’s not black and white.”
