THE presidents of AFL Cairns clubs will meet with the board this Friday morning, seeking more information regarded the suspension handed to Manunda Hawks that will see them out of next season’s senior and reserve grade competitions.
AFL Cairns announced on Friday that the Hawks would be booted from the competition in 2015 after they chose to travel for games against Port Douglas on August 2.
Not informed of the decision until it was made public, six of the seven club presidents — Centrals was the only club not represented — met on Saturday and agreed they needed an explanation for what has been described as an extreme call.
“I think it was a bit extreme, I’m a bit staggered at the severity of it all and I believe we should have been informed, if not involved in the process,” Port Douglas Crocs president Andy Smith said.
Smith’s club is at the centre of it all given it was their ground the Hawks chose not to visit, citing safety concerns after threats were directed towards a Manunda player in the lead-up to the game.
Confident that was not a legitimate issue and Manunda were in the wrong, Smith’s gripe is with the communication of the decision and how it has left the clubs out of the loop and the competition with only six teams.
“Our coach Brad Cooper was ropeable (with Manunda) at the time, but nobody expected that decision and my jaw hit the ground when I heard,” Smith said.
He denied they would be seeking a vote of no confidence in the board, but agreed a six-team competition next season would see the league lose legitimacy.
“I am proud of our competition and respect those board members, but I want to be able to support their decisions and as it stands we don’t really have the information to do that,” he said.
“If they want our support it just needs to be transparent and if we walk away from a meeting with a justification for the decision then so be it.
“But it’s going to take a superhuman effort to regroup the club after that; lots of hardworking people are behind the scenes of every club.”
Article courtesy of The Cairns Post
Last Modified on 17/09/2014 21:19