Sport
1 May, 2023
Maryborough Rovers and Royal Park agree to amalgamate for 2024 season and beyond
After years of on and off discussions, emotionally-charged matches and a rivalry that has spanned decades and generations, 2024 is the year that Maryborough Rovers and Royal Park become one. Both clubs have enjoyed strong histories in the town of...
After years of on and off discussions, emotionally-charged matches and a rivalry that has spanned decades and generations, 2024 is the year that Maryborough Rovers and Royal Park become one.
Both clubs have enjoyed strong histories in the town of Maryborough. Royal Park was formed in 1934, since then taking nine football premierships and seven netball premierships.
Maryborough Rovers formed in 1966 and have gone on to win three football premierships, with the last coming in 1991, while their A grade netball team has historically been around the mark, with their only grand final appearance in 2017.
A historic vote between financial members of both clubs was made on Friday night at Jubilee Oval and Hedges Oval, with the members on the opposite sides of town emphatically voting for the proposal to amalgamate the two clubs.
A joint press release was posted on both clubs’ social media on Friday night, stating that while there was still much to be explored, including the new name and colours of the club, both clubs would be celebrating their heritage throughout the season as they look for a fresh start.
“The announcement of this amalgamation and the establishment of the new board all allow for options around a new name and colours to be fully explored,” the statement reads.
“This amalgamation is seen as a positive step forward for the Maryborough community and for football and netball in the town.
“As many would understand, this amalgamation has been discussed for many years.
“The heritage of the Maryborough Rovers FNC and Royal Park FNC will not be lost in the establishment of this new entity. Both clubs will use the remainder of the 2023 season to celebrate the history of the clubs, with a view to an exciting future in 2024. We encourage all present and past members to engage with the club to celebrate the history of both clubs.
“Both clubs will use the remainder of the season to work together to ensure that the new club will be in the best position to achieve success in the 2024 season in all football and netball teams.”
Rovers vice president and football delegate Mark Raven couldn’t hide his relief that the vote went through in favour of the proposal, knowing that the history of the club could be maintained.
“It’s been a process that’s been going on for about two or three months. We’ve been meeting and discussing, and now we are glad that it’s all been completed and we have the outcome that a lot of people have been hoping for,” he said.
“It’s something that’s been going on for a lot of years, these talks, and for whatever reasons, they’ve never gone across the line. But now to have both committees on the same page and committed to this process is good.
“There may be people that will be sad that the club won’t be there anymore, but for the betterment of football and netball in the town, with three teams competing for senior footballers and netballers, we had to look at something that would be sustainable for the future.”
It is a sentiment that is echoed by Royal Park president Kate Balzan.
“It’s good to know that everyone is on the same page and we have the majority onboard. It was important to know that we wanted this to go ahead for the future. It’s nice now that we can continue on, but we have a plan forward, and we can celebrate Royal Park this year,” she said.
“We wanted to get it done really quickly so that we knew that if it was the last season for the club, we could truly celebrate everything about it.”
Both Raven and Balzan said explaining to life members the plans and strategies for the betterment of both clubs was hard to swallow, but found that they were also in agreement, paving the way to more confident talks.
“Explaining to a lot of people that have been around the club for a lot of years was the hardest part,” Raven said.
“They may not be around the club a lot at the moment, but they have had a lot of input over the years.
“That was something that we focused on in making a lot of phone calls prior to the first statement coming out, that we were in discussions.
“We made sure we rang as many as we could, just to give them the heads up and they didn’t find out second-hand and have to ask what was going on.”
Balzan shared a similar sentiment.
“Most life members were in support, as they were saying this has been going on for so many years,” she said.
“But it’s hard when you think about the heart. When we talk about the heart, it’s our club, it’s who we play for, and when you have been around the club for so long, it’s hard to ignore the heart telling you it’s what it is passionate about.
“The head is saying yes, it should probably go this way, but the heart was making it tricky for some.”
“One of our life members got up on Friday night and spoke about how pleased he was to see it finally going ahead. It’s been on and off for years, but it feels like the right time for the community.”
While early discussions centred around the club being named the Maryborough Giants, with the colours matching those of the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL, both Raven and Balzan confirmed that discussions around the club name, colours and other specifics were still to be confirmed.
“We have had the working party take us through to the voting stage. We haven’t had too much of a discussion over what the new club will be named, but I am sure it will expand and get more people involved to work through those sorts of areas with the name and colours,” Raven said.
“The Maryborough Giants was what was mooted first. It’s a name that the current working party was comfortable with, but we’ll head down and see what other people’s thoughts are.”
Balzan added that club members will be kept in the loop regarding these discussions.
“The Giants was one of the options, but we will go back to consensus from both clubs to see what we were feeling, then go back to that majority again,” she said.
Both Balzan and Raven stressed that the history and heritage of the clubs is at the forefront of discussions, ensuring that both can stay a part of the sporting culture of Maryborough going forward.
“We just don’t want either to fold and disappear into nowhere, and have no heritage and history. We wanted to make sure both clubs had that in the amalgamation going forward, so they weren’t forgotten,” Balzan said.
Raven encouraged members from both clubs to play their part in the new entity.
“All I want from our club from our point of view, and I hope the same for Royal Park, is that everyone involved at the clubs at the moment, be it as a member, volunteer or a player of netball or football is to give it a chance, give it a go, join whatever the new club is, and embrace it and make it a success from the start. We want to involve everybody, and we don’t want to lose anyone,” he said.
Before that, there is one more emotional meeting to get through — the round eight match up, set to be played at Hedges Oval.
Balzan and Raven said the emotions would overflow throughout the day.
“That last meeting will be interesting, and one that will be lots of fun, I think,” Balzan said.
“I could only imagine the last meeting will be emotional, and both clubs would love to have the win in both football and netball for the day,” Raven added.