Tigers join Fevola furore

Here is the letter the Tigers sent to O&M board this week.

WITH regards to your recent decision to change the season fixture and further to a meeting of the Albury Tigers Club Ltd (ATC) executive and General Manager of the League Mr Tom

O’Connor on the 12th March 2012 we would like to dispute the decision and challenge the rationale behind the decision. The Board of the ATC believe that the entire league and the game have been compromised and as such respectively request that the decision be rescinded.

Please find following our points of contention:

1.0 THE CLUB RELIES ON THE DRAW FOR PRE-SEASON AND SEASON ACTIVITIES

The draw as gazetted Pre-Christmas; following an exhaustive consultation with the clubs; has been relied on to develop strategy for the season, with the change to this draw our club has been disadvantaged on several fronts.

1.1 Football Department

The football department relies on the draw to develop its preseason and seasons football activities. Our pre-season activities include match time and strength work in preparedness for round one, round one implies that all clubs schedule their preseason to culminate on the same date. By changing the fixture this disadvantages the other eight clubs as two clubs will have a distinct advantage with additional match time on the other clubs by playing 31” March.

Practice matches are set when the draw is developed to allow for pre-season matches that complement the complex preparation and lead up to round one. This scheduling is highly developed and gives great consideration as to when we meet certain sides, injury management and our program as it stood had provision for a break leading into round one.

This professional pre-season scheduling is not unusual considering the depth of the league, and ever increasing professionalism of all clubs.

If the league was to retain the amended draw our club would need to reschedule the remainder of our preseason to remove a scheduled break and play an additional practice match on 31” March. This will unnecessarily burdened our club financially if we have to travel, this will also adversely affect a scheduled break for our volunteers.

In the event the club is unable to get another practice match, with a suitable opponent that represents the standard of our league, then our preparedness is again compromised. Eight clubs are also put at a considerable disadvantage at the end of the season in round seventeen where these two clubs, which should be in contention for the top five will have a bye, these two clubs will have an unfair advantage over the rest of the competition.

The unfair advantage that these two clubs will enjoy includes a break leading into the finals and a distinct advantage against their round 18 opponents.

1.2 Netball Department

As above the netball department is similarly affected, added to this they are directly giving a distinct advantage to the three time premiers Yarrawonga against the rest of the competition.

1.3 Club Operations

The club arranges the off field activities around the fixture which includes preseason games and activities, the concern here surrounds the nasty precedent that a change in the league fixture creates, as such Mr O’Conner did not give us any confidence that the fixture is exactly what its name sake suggests a “fixture” rather it can be changed at the whim of the league administrators as it sees fit.

Our concern deals with our reliance on this structure and could have overwhelming adverse consequence.

2.0 INTEGRITY OF THE LEAGUE AND THE GAME

Our club is of the opinion that an individual is not greater than the game and certainly not bigger than the league or their club, this is the very foundation that team sports are built upon, and for the league to give rise to an amended draw to cater for a high profile player is abhorrent, and it effectively undermines the very fabric which the game is built.

It is a very sad day, the day the league administrators think that they are bigger than the game, and as such manipulate the draw to accommodate one player who is serving disciplinary action imposed by the very regulatory authority which our game is bound. This in itself sends the wrong message to our clubs and its players not to mention the future integrity of the game and the developing juniors.

The message that just because you are an elite within your discipline, that you can somehow exert overwhelming influence on league administrators and allow a fixture (how very loose that word may be in the O&M) be manipulated.

Our club fears that the league administrators have compromised the league and our existing player group by individualising the game, there is an overwhelming ground swell of disapproval of the decision amongst our members, supporters, sponsors, and the greater Ovens and Murray community their concerns summarised above in most of the key points.

3.0 LACK OF CONSULTATION AND CONSIDERATION

Our club is of the opinion that if given an opportunity to voice our concerns and be allowed fair and reasonable considerations to the adverse effect that this decision will have on the competition, then this decision would never have been made in the first place.

The lack of transparency with this decision and the fact we had to learn about it in the media is most unprofessional, and treats the clubs with contempt. The Albury Tigers Club Ltd are respectful of the league and its administrators and fully understand the difficulties in accommodating the requests of all ten clubs, we are submitting this formal objection for the greater good of the entire Ovens & Murray Football & Netball League and as such submit the above objections in support of our request to rescind this decision.

We would ask that this matter given immediate consideration.

- President

cc. Mr Tom O’Connor - O&M General Manager

Mr Steven Reaper - VCFL Chief Executive Officer

Mr Brett Connell - VCFL Football Operations Manager