Federal in recess: Craig Sheather and Elise Wilson defend the 'gut-wrenching' decision

Craig Sheather and Elise Wilson have found themselves on the receiving end of stick locally during the discussions around whether or not to play on in the Upper Murray League.

Those talks finally culminated with the 'shattering' call to withdraw Federal's football and netball sides from the competition and the pair have spoken out to share their side of the story after giving decades of service to the club they love.

"I have been shattered but we had to make a decision," Wilson said.

"After all the negotiation with our club and members, a lot of them agreed with the decision.

"We couldn't keep going the way we were going.

"We keep getting reported that we're being negative but I would like to say that we're not negative, we're realists.

"When you look at numbers in our community, commitment from players and commitment from people to volunteer, we're just dwindling.

"People have had a change post-COVID and post-bushfires about what's important to them and volunteering and club don't seem as important as they used to be.

"I am third-generation here, my kids are fourth generation, my grandfather was a president of the Federal football club back in the 50s, my father played for Federels, my uncle played for Federals, my son plays for Federals, my daughter plays for Federals, I've played, I've coached, I've umpired, I've been president, I've been on the committee for more than 10 years and my husband's family are Federal people, so we have a huge history and that's why this is so emotional.

"We've copped a lot of flak in our community about what we're doing and how we see it this way.

"I think Federal has really had the finger pointed that we're being negative and making our league die but for Craig and I, this is pretty gut-wrenching.

"You've got to make a decision based on the real facts and the numbers and the people that are willing to take it forward.

"Craig and I have done our best and it was time for someone else to take it on board if they felt it was worthy of going forward.

"At our AGM, we didn't get a president and, as per our constitution, you can't go any further if you don't get a president.

"We had 32 people present and then another eight or more apologies so it wasn't as if we weren't well-supported.

"But if no-one else takes the reins to lead it forward, a decision's got to be made because we're both exhausted."

Federal won 27 senior football premierships, most recently under Jack Neil in 2016 when they beat fierce rivals Corryong in the grand final.

"The club's been pretty much my life in winter," Sheather said.

"I had a bit of a break when we had our kids but other than that, I've been there since I was nine and I'm in my sixties now.

ALSO IN SPORT

"It's heart-wrenching, really, and to see some of our older members and hear what they think of us for letting it die, I just don't know.

"It's something that will stay with us forever.

"We were the custodians and it probably stops with us.

"It's very sad but I think we've done the right thing by the club and the community."

So was there really no other solution?

"We had the 'One Vision' thing a few years ago to go to the Tallangatta League (as a joint Upper Murray entity)," Sheather said.

"We certainly thought it was the best thing for the league and the community but other clubs didn't, which is their choice.

"COVID put a bit of a hiccup in that because the One Vision team couldn't actually get out and talk to the clubs but we've had dwindling numbers for a while.

"Our kids have been pretty well-coached and they want to play good footy-netball so they're just moving away to follow that dream.

"We certainly don't fight to keep them if they want to go and better themselves, we encourage them to go."

The writing looked to be on the wall when the Swans had to forfeit their senior clash with Bullioh on the eve of this year's finals.

"When you have 90 senior players go through reserves and senior football for a year, it tells you a bit about the commitment of players," Wilson said.

"It's worth remembering that 2022 nearly didn't get off the ground because we weren't going to have a senior side and then there was a last-minute rally.

"We got players that said they'd commit but by the end of the year, the same thing happened and we were struggling to get a team on the park each week.

"Every time something comes up about the Upper Murray Football Netball League, it seems to be pointed at Federals.

"Well, that's OK, but there's other sides that also need to be involved in discussions and look at how bright it actually is and how easy it is to attract players with a lesser salary cap than Tallangatta, Hume, O and M and the added travel.

"If you look back at history, 121 years of a club shows there's a lot of heart and a lot of passion here.

"We are proud of our club and what we've achieved.

"We've had a lot of highs but this is certainly a low that we're taking pretty hard so it's very emotional.

"Maybe this isn't the end but it's a break for now."

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: