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<\/p>\nThey withdrew from the Bendigo Football Netball League because they were suffering 30-goal \u201cfloggings\u201d and continually struggling for numbers. They could only scramble together 14 players for their last game.<\/p>\n
But they believe they can regroup and be competitive in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League \u2013 a minor league competition made up of 13 clubs, seven of them within 30 minutes of Maryborough.<\/p>\n
But so far, their attempts have been rejected.<\/p>\n
To gain entry into the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League an application is put to a vote \u2013 decided by the league\u2019s 13 clubs and seven board members.<\/p>\n
The applicant needs a 75 per cent majority, or 15 out of the 20. Bardsley believes their bid in July last year fell one or two short.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very disappointing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a couple of clubs that don\u2019t like Maryborough. They just want our players.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say 90 per cent of the community wants this to happen. But because of the way the vote is, the minority trigger wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bardsley said the Magpies did not have a right of appeal.<\/p>\n
He said they had spoken to AFL Victoria but claimed the organisation was powerless to act. AFL Victoria was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went to everybody we possibly could think of,\u201d Bardsley said. \u201cThe AFL really don\u2019t want to know about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Maryborough Magpies intend to lodge another application to join the MCDFNL in coming weeks.<\/p>\n
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Dual Brisbane Lions premiership forward Kai Lohmann started his career as a junior playing football for Maryborough Magpies.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Their fate will once again be placed in the hands of potential rivals \u2013 the competition\u2019s nearby towns and districts drawing from the same dwindling talent pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping to get it done before the season starts because a lot of people have put a lot of time and effort in, and they\u2019re just mentally drained from all this,\u201d Bardsley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s a \u2018no\u2019, well, then we just shut the doors, I suppose. It\u2019s going to be pretty sad for the town.\u201d<\/p>\n
MCDFNL president Paul Wicks said last year\u2019s vote was kept confidential, so no one knew which way the numbers fell.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/c3e6e17ad8feab18f196da9b59acf5de2ff66e3d.jpeg\")
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The picturesque Prince\u2019s Park Oval is home to Maryborough Football Cub.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a secret ballot, we didn\u2019t release any voting numbers or who voted what [way],\u201d Wicks said.<\/p>\n
The league president said he had been involved in football in the Maryborough district for more than 30 years, but was not aligned to a club.<\/p>\n
He admitted that several of his board members were tied to individual clubs, but was adamant that the MCDFNL board voted in the best interests of the league.<\/p>\n
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\u201cClubs all vote in the interest of the clubs, board members vote in the interest of the league,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to have them (Maryborough) in the league if the league voted them in. Maryborough know my view on it, but they also understood that I am one of 20 votes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wicks said there was a bitter fallout from last year\u2019s \u2018no\u2019 vote, resulting in personal online attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they missed out, their Facebook pages went ballistic and all these people were calling all the board members names,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t believe how much we copped.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Originally from Maryborough FNC, Stewart Crameri played at AFL level between 2010 and 2018 for Essendon, Western Bulldogs and Geelong.Credit: Sebastian Costanzo<\/p>\n
Natte Bealiba Football Netball Club sits on a crossroad 30km from Maryborough, an oval and clubrooms surrounded by farm land.<\/p>\n
For decades, it has traded players with Maryborough \u2013 young players keen to ply their trade in a major league, or mature players looking to take a step back and play for extra cash.<\/p>\n
The trades, sometimes seen as poaching raids, have not always been amicable.<\/p>\n
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But Natte president Ben Williams said they would treat any new application on its merits.<\/p>\n
He said if Maryborough applied again to join their league, he would take it back to the Natte membership base, and they would vote on what was in the best interests of their club.<\/p>\n
Adam Balzan is the president of Maryborough Giants \u2013 a product of a 2023 merger between Maryborough Rovers and the town\u2019s Royal Park Tigers.<\/p>\n
Balzan said his club held talks with Maryborough Football Club to be part of a three-way merger three years ago, but the Magpies opted out.<\/p>\n
He said there were barely enough footballers and netballers to go around, with seven nearby teams \u2013 Maryborough Giants, Carisbrook, Talbot, Dunolly, Lexton, Avoca and Natte Bealiba \u2013 already competing for the same players.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not sure where they are going to get their players from \u2026 but I wish them the best of luck,\u201d Balzan said.<\/p>\n