Sport
13 June, 2026
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MURRABIT Football Netball Club is shaping as a potential addition to the Loddon Valley league if Marong or Maiden Gully leave for the Bendigo competition.
MURRABIT Football Netball Club is shaping as a potential addition to the Loddon Valley league if Marong or Maiden Gully leave for the Bendigo competition.
The absence of an Under 14 competition in the LVFNL was the main sticking point for Murrabit when it had discussions on a move south last season.
But that concern has been resolved with the launch of a fourth football tier this season, and Murrabit president Ross Stanton told the Loddon Herald that a mid-season club review “might mean we will take a step and talk to the Loddon Valley board”.
Murrabit and Macorna were members of the Golden Rivers league, which folded at the end of last season.
Five clubs including Murrabit joined the Central Murray league for 2026, with Macorna choosing to join the Loddon Valley.
The Tigers have been a revelation in senior football, being highly competitive in all matches and sitting in fifth spot in the ladder at the halfway mark of the season.
Stanton said Macorna’s move and its success provided a possible template for his club.
“I don’t think you can close any doors these days – you’ve just got to find a way to keep your club going,” he said.
“One of the reasons we didn’t join Macorna in going to the Loddon Valley was about junior structures as much as anything else.
“I see that is changing, so that gives uS something else to look at.”
Murrabit has struggled in the Central Murray league, with only one senior football win for the season against another former Golden Rivers club in Wandella.
“If you can’t get success in your seniors, over time you will erode your club pretty badly,” Stanton said.
“While we don’t need to win a premiership, we do need to taste a little bit of success.
“We said we would sit down during the year and review where we are at and what options are around.”
The Central Murray league is surveying all clubs as part of its review of a season in which it has grown from 11 clubs to 16.
“We were forced to make a reasonably quick decision when Golden Rivers got down to five teams [after Macorna’s decision to join the LVFNL],” Stanton said.
“We tried to find as many ways to stick together as we could, but it doesn’t always work.
“If something comes up that is a lot better, who knows?”
Wandella, which is winless in the Central Murray league, also considered joining the Loddon Valley competition, but the junior football issue proved insurmountable.
Club president Leigh Hollingworth said the club had no immediate plans to change leagues again, “but who knows what the future holds with other leagues and the way they restructure?”
He said last year during talks with the Loddon Valley he had been told the clubs were not keen on an Under 14 competition, which was a key reason for joining Central Murray.
“It has been a battle to be competitive on the field and the court – it’s taken a bit to adjust to a new league.”
Marong and Maiden Gully want to transfer to the Bendigo league next season, but the BFNL is viewed as unlikely to add two clubs to its competition in one year. Marong had a special meeting last night to discuss a move.
One departure, however, would reduce the Loddon Valley league to nine teams, with an even number of clubs seen as the preferred scenario.
Loddon Valley president Richard Hicks said, “We are open to talk with any club that expresses interest in joining our league.”
Read More: Loddon Shire