Wimmera Football Netball League formed after unanimous vote

All nine Wimmera league clubs voted in favour of merging the Wimmera Football League and Wimmera Netball Association to form the Wimmera Football Netball League (WFNL).

The merger comes after decades of discussion for the two entities to join forces.

It is hoped joining the two leagues will help streamline governance and facilitate more mutually beneficial decisions for both football and netball.

AFL Wimmera-Mallee area manager Jason Muldoon said it was fantastic to have a unanimous result.

"For a lot of people, this has been in the wings for 15 years or so, and for whatever reason it hasn't achieved its goal. So it's great to get to that point where we finally reached a decision," he said.

"I think the unanimous vote shows that everyone was ready to do this.

"We're really glad to have presented a structure everybody was happy with."

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The amalgamation of the two leagues was instigated by a new working party formed to facilitate the change while there was no football or netball in 2020.

The party consisted of Tony Baker, Toni Stewart, Pauline Butler, Angela Ballinger, Donna Winfield, Trevor Albrecht and Mary-Lou Boatman, with Mr Muldoon and Netball Victoria's Pam Ferrari providing guidance.

Boatman said there was "a bit of relief and joy" to see the proposal voted through.

"It had been a long time coming - there's been a lot of work done on amalgamation of the two entities over a number of years," she said.

"I think a major stumbling block in the past may have been that one entity felt like they were getting taken over by the other. Whereas this time around, we came at it with a blank slate and looked at what might be best for both parties.

"I think there is now a chance for every decision to be made for the good of both football and netball, with nothing falling through the cracks."

Boatman said that although the two leagues had now become one entity, volunteer engagement was just as important for the new board to "function properly".

The league had now begun accepting applications for nine board positions.

"We're hoping a refreshed board will bring some new ideas and focus on a few key areas," Mr Muldoon said.

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