Werribee Football Club will become the fully aligned VFL partner of AFL club North Melbourne from 2016 for at least two seasons.
The Tigers, and fellow VFL club North Ballarat, currently have a partial agreement with the Kangaroos, which sees the AFL club split its players between the two clubs.
That existing contract will end at the conclusion of the 2015 season.
From 2016, Werribee will take over as the fully aligned partner, meaning all players who are not in the Kangaroos best team will filter down to the Tigers in the VFL.
Werribee will retain its name, nickname, colours and song in the agreement, preserving 50 years of history.
“This is one of the biggest decisions in the 50-year history of our club and was the result of exhaustive talks between the two clubs and extensive research by our board and staff,” Tigers president John Nicol said.
“In the end, the financial and football future of the club saw this as our best option for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.”
John Lamont will be senior coach until the end of the 2017 season and Stuart Balloch will remain football manager for the same period.
Lamont was a development and line coach at North Melbourne before accepting the head coaching position at Werribee at the start of last season and sees the relationship as mutually beneficial.
“The relationship between the two clubs is very strong, very healthy and has produced good results,” he said.
“Werribee has developed players like Ben Brown and Luke McDonald that North has drafted, and we have seen North listed players like Mason Wood (29 games) and Daniel Currie (30 games) hone their skills playing for Werribee, all to the benefit of the North Melbourne Football Club.
“We have also seen Ben Ross, Ben Warren and Ben Speight choose to continue their football at Werribee after being delisted by the Kangaroos.”
North Melbourne director of football Geoff Walsh said the agreement would enhance both football programs and that it would lead to the Kangaroos having a greater presence in the City of Wyndham.
“Both Werribee and North Melbourne will benefit greatly from the full alignment and we are sure that not only will this decision enhance the football programs of both clubs but the joint approach will further imprint our game in the western region,” he said.
“The full alignment will see the North Melbourne Football Club and its players become even more present in the City of Wyndham, adding to the community programs and initiatives already run by the two clubs.”
