Swans officials informed the league at a meeting on Monday night that they had backflipped on a recent decision not to field a senior side this season.

The club had hoped to be able to forge ahead this year without seniors but the request was denied because it breaches the league constitution.

Federal was in the process of lodging an appeal against the decision.

However, several more players decided to commit during the past week when they realised how dire the situation was and that the club was teetering on the brink of collapse.

Swans co-president Craig Sheather said it was a huge relief to be able to ensure the club's immediate future.

"We put out one final request for players last week and thankfully we had a good response," Sheather said.

"There's quite a few former players who haven't played for years but have put their hand up to whack a jumper on again this season.

"A few players have indicated they can't play every week but there are enough of them that we should be able to get by.

"It's terrific news and a huge relief for everybody involved with the club and the league as well I would imagine.

"The club's volunteers have spent a lot of hours and done a lot of miles to make it happen but it's rewarding to get the result that we were desperate for."

Border-Walwa went into recess in 2020 reducing the competition to just five teams.

If Federal had suffered a similar fate, it could have put the future of the league in jeopardy with only four sides remaining.

"It's a big decision, not only for our club but the league and the Upper Murray community," he said.

"It gives everybody a decent year of football because otherwise the season would have been reduced to nine rounds plus a month for the finals series.

"We realised the ramifications on the whole community if we didn't have seniors.

"We were also mindful that we have our juniors and netballers that we need to look after."

Sheather conceded the club's announcement at the league meeting had caught most other clubs officials off guard.

"We withdrew our appeal against being able to play without seniors on Monday," Sheather said.

"I think most of the other clubs were surprised by the announcement and arrived at the meeting thinking the worst.

"It certainly put a few smiles on faces."

ALSO IN SPORT

Federal held a crisis meeting last Thursday which sparked the stunning turnaround in the club's fortunes.

"We had about 55 supporters at the meeting and it was a unanimous decision that we should push on," he said.

"At that stage, that was without seniors.

"I think it was at that moment people realised how dire the situation was and blokes started to put their hands up to play.

"We have got a solid core of local senior players, we just needed a few more recruits to get the necessary numbers which we have got now."

The Upper Murray league commenced last weekend with Federal having the bye.

The Swans face fierce rival Corryong on Saturday.

"We won't be the top side but I think we will be more than competitive most weeks," Sheather said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: