Tara Murray
Werribee Football Club is excited by the challenge ahead in the new VFL/East Coast second-tier competition.
Werribee is one of 22 teams that will be part of the new competition, which will include clubs from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
There are eight standalone second-tier clubs in the competition, including Werribee, along with three AFL-aligned clubs and 11 standalone AFL clubs.
Werribee Football Club president Martin Carter said Werribee is a vital and integral part of the new competition and it was a positive move.
“We are delighted to be part of this very exciting new chapter in second tier football,” he said.
“It means a very vibrant competition. It means the youth will be developed even more than it has in the past and it means that we are really going to see a focus on development and also a focus on talent coming through the ranks with 22 clubs participating.
“We see Werribee as an integral part of the football landscape and look forward to playing our part on and off field.”
Carter said 2021 would be a transitional year, with the season to be 16 rounds beginning in April. He said they expected to travel interstate twice next season for matches and would likely host eight home games.
The competition, which is still to be officially named, will integrate into a streamlined calendar for men’s football with the 2021 NAB League Boys, with both seasons set to begin in April.
All clubs will have connections to community clubs and pathway programs, including a varied alignment to NAB League Clubs for Victorian-based teams.
The new competition will sit alongside the SANFL and the WAFL in 2021 to provide players with the highest level of second-tier football.
The salary cap for the new competition is set at $200,000 for standalone clubs and $100,000 for AFL and aligned clubs.
There will be no license fee payable by any club to participate in the 2021 Second-Tier Competition with the AFL to subsidise all approved Club travel for interstate matches.
