Melton Rugby Union Club has been kicked off its home ground because of falling membership, a woeful recent season and a growing local interest in rugby league.
Melton council has reshuffled field allocations at McPherson Park recreation reserve and offered the facility, home to the Warriors for more than 15 years, to Melton Broncos Rugby League Club.
The rugby union club will use Melton Phoenix Football Club’s changing sheds and neighbouring ground until February but will eventually share the Melton Centrals Cricket clubrooms at oval two of McPherson Park.
“Despite having a strong junior base in 2010, the steady decline in junior participation has made it difficult for the club to remain viable,” Melton council recreation and youth manager Adrian Burns said.
“[However] Over the course of two seasons, Melton Broncos Rugby League Club has outgrown its facility [at Mt Carberry Reserve within McPherson Park].”
Plummeting membership
Warriors acting club president Liam Devlin said the club’s membership had plummeted from 120 paid members a few years ago to just 45 this year.
“Although we are deeply disappointed in the decision, we will endure to push forward and do what we can for the growth of our club,” he said.
“The level of our frustration has come down from where it was at our club meeting a month ago when [the issue] was first up for discussion. The older members, particularly those who had been with the club for up to 40 years, were very upset.”
Mr Devlin said a recent grading change from C to A division was partly to blame for the Warriors’ dwindling membership.
“Being a social club, we just didn’t have what we needed to keep up against A-grade teams last season,” he said. “We were plagued with injuries and had losses that looked more like cricket scores.” The senior men’s team abandoned its season after round six.
Mr Devlin said the club had since launched a Sevens program and competed at a recent Bendigo competition.
“We believe there’s room for huge growth in rugby union [in Melton] and we hope we can prove to the council in the next 12 months that we can get membership back up and reclaim our old home ground,” he said.
Mr Burns said the council looked forward to working with the new committee of Melton Rugby Union Club in the hope its new home would help attract new members and promote the growth of junior teams.
