GSFL president Terry Eaton left disappointed by no team competing at this year’s country footy championships

The Great Southern Football League will not have a senior team participating at the Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships this week, a development that has frustrated GSFL president Terry Eaton. The GSFL senior team made consecutive division three grand finals, losing to Eastern Districts in 2018 and then Regional Allstars in 2019. The entire championships were called off in 2020 due to COVID and last year only women and colts divisions were played. However the previous couple of GSFL senior campaigns have been plagued by uncertainty and in the days leading up to the 2019 carnival, powerbrokers called an emergency meeting to gather the bare minimum number of players to compete. Eaton said that interest at senior level was extremely low and as a result they did not nominate a team to the WA Country Football League for the return of the championships this week. “We put the feelers out some time ago and no one really seemed keen,” Eaton said. “We’ve got to find a group of 25 players that are motivated to go and right now we don’t have that … its sad really. “The players themselves have to take it on and drive it, they are the ones that should want to play representative footy. “We didn’t get enough interest and buy in to say they wanted to go, I just couldn’t believe it really and still don’t.” Great Northern Football League and Lower South West Football League will also not field senior teams this week. The GSFL has been through years of pain at the annual country championships, spending time in both division two and division three. Their last title came in division three in 2014 after beating North Midlands and prior to that it was a division two grand final win over Eastern Districts in 2006. Eaton said the league would put a focus on finding out why the interest had waned and come up with a plan to get the senior team back on their feet. “We’ve got to flesh it out and come up with a plan,” he said. “We have to find out from the guys why they are not going, maybe a survey or speak to them individually. “We have to prioritise it because we need to be a part of it. “I know there are leagues that don’t go but I’d love nothing more than guys going away to represent our league again. “I don’t have many players coming up to me and saying ‘oh I’m disappointed we are not going’ so that says to me it’s not front of mind. “We have to get people driving it and be front of mind for players.” Several years ago the GSFL handed over their colts team to local football development program the Great Southern Storm. The Storm will be the sole side representing the region when they contest the colts division of the championships on Thursday and Friday. Five teams will compete in division one of the carnival and the WACFL has scrapped division three and instead will have a seven-team division two competition. The senior divisions will be played on Friday and Saturday before their grand finals at the WACA on Sunday.