League looking for way to eradicate byes

November 19 2008

Shepparton News

North Eastern Soccer League is thinking outside the square as it tries to plug the hole in its Men's Division One draw left by the absence of senior Kyabram and Numurkah teams.

Holding little hope of either club stepping its Division Two side up to fill the void and end a host of byes in the men's senior draw, the league is looking further afield for players to fill the gap.

Not clubs specifically, but collections of players keen to represent their region in the North Eastern league.

President Frank Trimboli said the North Eastern league's strength in men's senior division was its selling point to players in country Victoria and New South Wales looking for a challenge.

Players in Griffith and surrounding areas and centres of the Victorian Albury Wodonga Football League clubs have been canvassed.

After recent talk of former clubs Hanwood and Yoogali potentially returning men's seniors to the league, Trimboli said plans had been extended further to include players from other Griffith clubs.

"We're hoping to see 15 to 20 players in a region band together and form a senior men's team," Trimboli said. "We don't need a club, what we need is senior men's teams to fill the holes in our fixture."

With just six division one clubs this year, a three-meeting season was played to give teams 15 home and away matches, however it also meant six byes scattered through each team's campaign. "We don't want to see that again," Trimboli said. "The standard of competition here has a reputation for being high and our competition has a reputation for being well organised.

"If there are players out there who want to test themselves in this league we want them to come together and form a representative men's team of their region."

The North Eastern league disclosed yesterday it had made an unsuccessful approach to lure Bendigo Amateur Soccer League club Echuca-Moama to its competition for next season.