NNSWF First Division in limbo amid NPL licence applications
June 7, 2016, 8:30 p.m.

CHIEF executive David Eland said Northern NSW Football were focused on the creation of a two-division National Premier League in 2017 and were unable to answer questions about the future of the second-tier First Division amid growing concerns from clubs.

All 11 First Division clubs apart from Cooks Hill have said they will apply for NPL inclusion. Cooks Hill secretary Di Spurway said her club would make a decision after meeting with NNSWF and discussing the matter further. The Newcastle Herald understands interdistrict clubs New Lambton, Mayfield Seniors and Morisset have expressed interest in applying.

A committee last year left open the possibility of an NPL 2 competition, if enough clubs met the criteria, to underpin the top league and continue promotion and relegation. Another option was to have one NPL and stop movement between leagues inside licence periods.

The Herald spoke to representatives from nine of the 11 First Division clubs on Tuesday. Wallsend and Lake Macquarie could not be contacted but it is believed they are applying before the June 30 deadline and will be among the strongest candidates from the league. Most representatives conceded their club would struggle to meet parts of the criteria, including facility requirements, ability to field youth teams and increased burdens on finances and volunteers.

If only one top level remains, clubs are concerned First Division could be dissolved, dropping them to interdistrict level if they are not up to NPL standards.

Eland said he knew clubs were concerned about the scenario but he was unable to offer any guarantees.

“The simple answer is we don’t know,” Eland said of First Division’s future. “We can only consider that once the applications are received. We are not going to even consider that until we work out how the NPL licence period is going to be applied, and that’s our priority.”

Eland hoped two levels of NPL could be formed.

“The recommendations that came out of the review last year simply related to the NPL, so we are very focused on running hopefully two divisions of the NPL with promotion-relegation,” he said.

“Whether we have enough clubs that meet the criteria to justify two divisions of NPL, we won't know until the submissions are received.”

Several clubs told the Herald of plans to improve facilities, and Eland said there was a provision to consider projects “but there needs to be a firm plan supported by a council and the funding available”. He added: “I would suggest there’s not a lot of point in clubs submitting non-complaint applications. The criteria is very clear.”

He said announcements about the 2017 leagues “won’t be made until the competitions are well and truly over”.

Read club responses at www.theherald.com.au

Cooks Hill secretary Di Spurway said her club were working through the criteria and meeting with NNSWF on Wednesday night. Spurway said the club will make a decision about an application after the meeting and they would need to consider the extra teams, finances and volunteers needed to make the jump.

West Wallsend president Keith Cooper said his club were applying although they were not looking to make the leap to NPL 1 next year. Cooper said their focus was on a three-year plan to qualify. He said they had an application into council for upgrades to Johnston Park, taking in undercover seating, full fencing, dugout expansion and improved amenities, and they had started conversations with junior clubs.

Like the Bluebells, Thornton were putting in a submission despite not meeting criteria. Chairman Mark Whitchurch said Thornton needed facility improvements, like undercover seating, and they had begun connecting with their juniors. He hoped the club had the opportunity to continue building.

Singleton secretary Warren Gillespie said his club were going to apply but he questioned whether they could met the “tough requirements” on facilities. He said the club had struggled for playing depth but were very strong off the park with finances and junior club connections.

Toronto Awaba president Nathan White said the Stags were going to apply but he conceded “the criteria was quite strict” and far more demanding. White said the club were meeting to address the criteria and were aiming to stay in an underpinning league. He said they were connecting with their juniors and were strong in facilities at Lyall Peacock Field.

South Cardiff secretary Lyn Fox said her club, who were in the NPL last season, would be applying to return.

Kahibah president Tim Hinds said his club were “definitely going to apply, but we don’t know how we will go”. Hinds said the facility requirements were the issue for his club, who use Kahibah Oval. He said he would be surprised if many First Division clubs met the criteria completely and he hoped an underpinning league remained because “it goes to the integrity of the top competition”.

Cessnock City secretary Warren Jeffrey said his club, who met the NPL licence criteria in 2014, would be pushing on with an application. The Hornets are last in First Division. Jeffrey said his club, a former state league club formed in 1907, did not want to drop further and be “caught in the quagmire back in interdistrict level”.

Belmont Swansea president David Reed said his club were “quite advanced” in their application. Reed expected his club to fit into an NPL 2 division. He said the added financial demands of the top league would be the biggest challenge for Belswans.