Chief Operating Officer’s Report

REPORT - Shaun Connell

Forever and a day…2020 will always be remembered as the season ended by Covid-19.

It has been an extraordinary year, one which has impacted us all in one way or another, as the global pandemic - Covid-19 – took a grip on the world, challenging everyone with social and economic impacts that will be felt for some time to come.

The pandemic has seen our clubs and stakeholders across the community develop resilience which will see us operate differently but make our sports stronger over the coming years.

The year started with such promise, with increased team registrations across all of our member leagues.

The Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League (MPNFL) was on track to be fully subscribed across both football and netball, while South Eastern Women Football (SEWF) welcomed the admission of Casey Thunder and Mt Eliza.

And our junior competitions – Frankston and District Junior Football League (FDJFL), South East Juniors (SEJ) and Top-Age competitions received a record number of registrations totalling 470 teams.

Commission

On March 6, AFLSE Region General Manager John Anderson retired after a distinguished career in the sporting industry and three years with AFL South East.

John was largely responsible for the financial turn-around of the leagues that we administer, particularly the FDJFL and MPNFL.

Following John’s departure, AFL Victoria restructured the region and appointed Richard Black as the new Head of South East Victoria, primarily responsible for overseeing the governance of AFLSE and AFL Gippsland.

On March 29, AFLSE Chair Roger Hampson advised AFL Victoria that he was standing-down due to increased work commitments at Essendon Grammar due to Covid. Roger held the position of Regional Commission Chair for four years and we thank him for his contribution to the AFLSE region.

Like many businesses, the ongoing uncertainty created by Covid-19 presented some real challenges for the region, particularly around the financial stability of the clubs.

It was March 16 when AFL South East (AFLSE) offices closed and AFLSE and AFL Victoria staff were requested to work from home.

By March 27 staff were stood down.

Eventually the Federal Government’s Job Keeper payments offered some relief for staff, although they would all prefer to be working.

During this period we lost two valued staff members in Carl Fletcher and Nicole Edney, who were fortunate enough to secure full-time employment during the pandemic. We thank both Carl and Nicole for their time with AFLSE and wish them well in their future endeavours.

AFLSE staff have been incredibly loyal and patient during Covid with many of them going over and above - working way beyond their allocated Job Keeper hours.

I’m very proud to be leading a team of such dedicated people, who are invested and passionate about football and netball in this region.

Although it has been an incredibly challenging time navigating through Covid and it impacts on the 2020 season, it was pleasing to see a high level of cooperation and understanding by the clubs and respective local governments. As a result, representation on the Commission would now be filled by AFL and AFL Victoria Executive, whose primary role was to be responsible for the region’s financial and compliance matters.

Local representation would be maintained through the establishment of the AFLSE Advisory. The Advisory would represent the clubs and leagues in key local and regional strategy in growing football and netball across the region.

Throughout 2021, AFL Victoria will continue to work with AFLSE on the review of Governance in the Region with the Commission assisting in an AFL Victoria review of governance in Melbourne’s Eastern corridor.

Umpiring

In January 2020 AFLSE appointed Darren Holt as the Regional Director of Umpiring, replacing Carl Fletcher who was redeployed as Junior Operations Manager.

Darren was well known in the region through his extensive involvement with the Southern Umpires Association (SUA), as well as contributing in the Yarra Ranges, VFL and AFL Umpiring.

AFLSE and SUA agreed to a revised MOU which secured the ongoing support and management across the region until the end of 2022.

We appreciate the cooperation of the wider AFLSE/SUA Umpiring group for their support during the height of the pandemic. Their willingness to support an industry-wide approach to get a season underway - including a reduction in payments - was welcomed by all clubs.

We look forward to continuing to support and foster the development and growth of umpiring across the South East.

AFLSE thank all clubs within the region for their flexible approach and willingness to work together with the league.

AFLSE Partners

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the continued support of our corporate and community partners and sponsors during a very challenging period for our business.

We are very grateful for the financial support of the partners who were in a position to do so despite the financial impact of Covid-19 on their businesses.

In particular, I would like to thank Peter Sells and the team at Chisholm Institute, along with Tania Hansen and the Bendigo Community Bank Managers - Major Partner of SEWF - and Darryl Suttclife and his team at the Pearcedale Branch for their ongoing support of the SEJ.

I would also like to thank Gary March and his team at LoCo Sportswear for working through the challenges of 2020 and we now look forward to supporting LoCo Sportswear by promoting its value to clubs.

In addition we extend our appreciation to all of our valued sponsors and partners as well, including Adcell, Advance Trophies, Bank of Queensland, Buffalo, Colbrow, GameFace, Game Changer, Garrleigh Trophies, Grashan Sportswear, Heatstrip, Hero HQ, Ivan’s Pies, McDonalds, Medical Edge, Melbourne Football Club, Peninsula Sports Medicine Group, Physioworks, Ross Faulkner, RPPfm, Sports Chaplaincy Australia, Sherrin, Sports Performance Tracking, St Kilda Football Club, Tackle Your Feelings, Totally Workwear, Victor Sporst and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Appreciation

We are very appreciative of everyone’s contribution to football and netball in this region, as such it is appropriate to acknowledge the following people:

• Current and former Members of the AFL South East Commission • Members of the AFLSE Advisory • Members of the respective League Sub-Committees • AFLSE Tribunal and Investigators • Management and Staff of AFLSE for their commitment and dedication during a very challenging and uncertain period • Presidents, Secretaries and all volunteers of affiliated clubs who demonstrated leadership during the pandemic • Staff at AFL Victoria for their support and advice • AFL South East partners and sponsors for their ongoing committment of community sport.

Historically, 2020 will forever be recorded as ‘the season suspended due to the pandemic’ and we may not fully comprehend the significance of this for some time to come.

But we look forward to working closely with all of our stakeholders on the planning of a successful 2021 season.

Kind Regards

Shaun Connell AFL South East Chief Operating Officer