Kaniva-Leeor United vote to move to the Horsham District league for 2021 season

Kaniva-Leeor United members and supporters voted to leave the Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara league to join the District league at an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday night.

The club had been considering its options for 2021, with the South Australian border putting question marks over the club's ability to participate in the KNTFL.

The club had been discussing a potential merger with Nhill, before talks hit a roadblock earlier in November.

Kaniva-Leeor United president Jason Gordon said approximately 80 per cent of the vote was in favour of joining the District league for 12 months.

"That is not an indication that after one year we will just go back to the KNTFL," Mr Gordon said.

"There was nobody that is dead set on moving back next year - realistically, if it all goes well, why would we want to go back?

"One thing that we don't know is what could happen with community sport post-COVID.

"There could be a whole lot of change - so it's about being flexible and prepared.

"This is the best chance our club has to play community sport next year."

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Mr Gordon said the club chose to move to the Horsham District league rather than the Wimmera Football Netball League to compete against communities of a similar size.

He said after months of stressful decision making, the club was relieved to have a goal and a direction to work toward.

"We're really hopeful that the HDFNL welcomes us, understanding our circumstances with the border," he said.

"We're looking forward to playing and sharing with them good community sport and fellowship over the next 12 months, something we've all greatly missed.

"And I genuinely look forward to welcoming the people of the HDFL to the Kaniva Rec Reserve. The ground is looking absolutely pristine at the moment, we've got good netball facilities, a good hub and good changerooms.

"The KNTFL has been great for us, but we hope this next adventure is just as good."

Mr Gordon said in deciding not to merge with Nhill, a challenge lay ahead in securing numbers and ensuring a prosperous future.

He said, however, that the club was ready to meet the task head-on.

"It's going to be a huge challenge to get 40 blokes on the field every week," he said.

"We put it to our members, players, supporters to have their say multiple times, and this is the outcome we wanted.

"We had a players' meeting a few weeks ago with 20-odd players, and they unanimously agreed they wanted to stand alone for as long as we could.

"So we've got a lot of recruiting to do, some big rivers to cross, but we've got a great group of players and members onside, and we are excited about what lies ahead."

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