Dear Editor,

I write to remind all interested members of the Euroa Football Netball Club that the Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held on Monday 12 October and to urge them to come along and show their interest in, and support for, the club.

I have nominated for the position of President for the coming year and also wish to take this opportunity to outline my views on a couple of issues.

Firstly, I believe the club should have re-appointed David Putamorsi as Coach for 2010 and that the failure of the committee to do so has had a destabilising effect on the club.

This season the committee, to their credit, acted to curb expenditure and as a result a number of senior players left the club. Despite this the club managed to win as many games (7) as in 2008 - including four of the last five.

There were also 100+ point turnarounds in at least three games from the first to the second meetings - Seymour, Tatura and Shepparton - and the playing group is the closest I have seen in my ten years at the club. The season also finished with 21 players having a “red-hot go” and there was an air of excitement amongst supporters.

Many factors played a part in this turnaround, including the promotion of junior players, but I am at a loss to fathom how anyone can be of the opinion that the Senior Coach does not deserve another year with the group.

Improvement will come through keeping the group together and recruiting a couple of the “right” players to complement the list. It is to be hoped that everyone is prepared to “walk the talk” and put the club first.

This also leads to my second point: the club’s finances are still extremely precarious. Any additional expenditure must be within the bounds of a realistic and achievable budget, and the dollars must be in the bank before they are spent. There are a number of exciting initiatives that the committee should also be congratulated on, but we must wait and see that they achieve the expected results first.

Another priority should be the completion of the lights, which would allow the club (and others in the district) to play matches at night. This would also have a positive effect on our revenue base. The results achieved by Kyabram are testament to this.

Finally, the club is not just about the Senior football side; each week more than 90 players represent our town in three grades of football and four of netball. The club is also about them, their friends and families and all of our supporters and members.

Administrative practices and procedures, what the club stands for and our role in the wider community are also important matters.

My “passion” for the club has got me into hot water in the past and I readily admit that my views are often black-and-white, but it is Euroa “first, last and always” as far as I am concerned.

If elected I will give 100% to the job; if unsuccessful, whilst I will be disappointed, I will be satisfied with the fact that I was prepared to have a go, and comfortable in the knowledge that members cast their votes with an understanding of what I was standing for.

Yours faithfully,

Greg Blatchford

18 Armstrong Street

Euroa