For years, at the end of each season, Mill Park Junior Football Club has fielded calls from senior clubs wanting to speak to its players.
Mill Park has had no senior club for players to transition into, so has been the target of other clubs looking for talented young players who are too old to continue as juniors.
Sick of what he describes as “a meat market”, club president Paul Anetta and the committee decided to do something about it.
“The last 10-15 years we’ve had relationships with some clubs, but nothing was cemented,” Anetta said.
“Last year, we played in the division 1 grand final, and we had 10 clubs wanting to speak to the boys.
“We decided there was a better way to do this, and we started looking for clubs without a junior club.”
A year after beginning talks with Watsonia the two clubs have officially joined forces.
Watsonia’s under-19 side will now be called Watsonia-Mill Park.
“The under-17s will now have direct access to a senior club,” Anetta said. “The committee at Watsonia has been fantastic, and we’ve really struck a cord.
“We’ve sort of been working together the last year … both clubs are comfortable with each other.”
The clubs are located within 15 minutes of each other, and are hoping this new relationship will help keep teenagers in the game they would otherwise have left.
“From the feedback I’ve got, a lot of kids will take the year off to focus on VCE,” Anetta said.
“Changing football clubs on top of that [VCE} is daunting and makes the decision to give football away a lot easier.
“It’s another reason to have a relationship between the two clubs.”
Watsonia secretary Rod Haber said the club hoped the partnership would eventually see families migrate from one club to the other.
Mill Park will receive part of the registration fee for each former junior who registers to play with Watsonia.
“More than anything, it’s an opportunity for the Mill Park boys to continue to play football together, rather than getting to the under-17 year and then separating,” Haber said.
“Part of the agreement between the clubs is that we’ll name our under-19s Watsonia-Mill Park.
“It gives the boys coming from Mill Park that sense of ownership, and they’re not just coming into any other club, they’re actually staying within their own club.”
Mill Park is looking for more junior footballers for the upcoming NFL season. Details: 0438 538 772 or ow.ly/Y1Xsq
