The Cobar Blues Football & Netball Club will hold an information evening on Tuesday night prior to the club’s annual general meeting.
Following their unceremonious dumping earlier this year from the Northern Riverina League competition for failing to field an AFL side, the Blues have been looking at their playing options for next season.
While the club was not able to raise an AFL side prior to the start of this season, it wasn’t however the same case with their netballers, with Cobar nominating three very competitive sides this year.
The Blues netballers played just three rounds before the Northern Riverina League gave them their marching orders at the end of April.
As it was too late in the season to join another league or play in the local netball competition, the club looked at other options for their netball teams including playing at different carnivals around the state.
Club president Tanya Gilbert said in the weeks following the decision the committee looked at the options available to them for disputing the decision with a number of avenues explored with NSW Netball and AFL NSW/ACT.
“At the same time we immediately looked at options for getting our netball squad some games for 2015,” Mrs Gilbert said.
“This started with a Cobar Netball Association agreement for Saturday games against C grade; Blues teams played two weekends with/against the Far West Academy of Sport netball squad as part of their preparations and selections for the NIB games; some players joined Cobar Netball Association teams in their round 6, which we supported and encouraged where it was a possibility.”
Training for the Blues netballers continued for a number of weeks after they were thrown out of the Northern Riverina League, but as numbers at training began to dwindle due to players losing interest or moving to other sports, coupled with the estimated high travel costs to attend carnivals, sadly the Blues teams then dissolved.
Mrs Gilbert said they then kicked off the Fast5 Monday night social competition in order to allow the Blues girls to get some playing time on the court.
She said the committee has continued their Friday night raffle fundraising to ensure they don’t go into the 2016 season with a debt and have also been doing some longer term planning with Netball NSW.
“We’ve discussed the options of starting a new competition in conjunction with the Cobar Camels and have meet with CNA to put a proposal to them about our preferred option for 2016,” Mrs Gilbert said.
She said the information night will lay out all the options for next season but it will be up to the new committee elected at the club’s AGM as to what direction the club will go in next season.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is for anyone who has a desire to see the Cobar AFL side re-establish in 2016 to attend the meeting,” she said.
