THE CENTRAL West Australian Football League in New South Wales found it hard enough competing with rugby union and league through the season, let alone on grand final day.
So they took matters into their own hands, rescheduling the draw to make the footy as successful as possible in a land of steadfast league fanatics.
“Traditionally down here we’re in league heartland and our grand final for some reason always falls on the same weekend as the league and union,” Bathurst Bushrangers club operations manager Tony Lewis said.
“So we’ve deliberately put our draw back.
“Last year all three codes played their grand final in Dubbo on the same day. Nobody got full recognition for what they’re doing, so we’ve intentionally pushed our draw back, and we’ll play a stand-alone finals series.”
Lewis, from the football-loving town of Albury, knows that his code won’t attract the same attention as the traditional NSW codes. But the Central West league, despite having only six teams, has a proud heart that beats as strong as that of any league around Australia.
The games get a hundred or so spectators to the ground, fans he describes as “loyal die-hards”.
“We’re probably one of the smallest leagues you’ll find going around. But we have a good time,” Lewis said. “A lot of expat Victorians or South Australians [attend games].
“Although, the code in general is growing here. In central NSW we’re in the heartland of league and union but we’re certainly making inroads. The way our league is run is very professional.”
When the Orange Tigers host the Bushrangers at Anzac Park for their May 10 match-up, the die-hards will witness the intense rivalry the clubs have held since their 1990s heyday.
“In the early to late ‘90s, Orange and Bathurst were certainly the dominant clubs in the league,” Lewis said.
“There was certainly no love lost between the two of them.
“From 1993-97 Bathurst won five flags on the trot. Of those five, we beat Orange four times. Orange went on to win a couple on the trot after that.”
Bathurst was known as the Eagles in those days. University students who fed into the side left to form their own team, re-amalgamating with the club in 2004 when it changed its name to the Bushrangers.
The new moniker had no bearing on the Tigers’ feeling.
“There’s still the rivalry. They still see us as the Eagles, even though we’re now called the Bushrangers,” Lewis said.
Bathurst has had the upper hand in recent times, playing in the last four grand finals to finish runners-up the past two years. The Tigers finished fourth last year.
Regardless of the outcome, the community spirit will win through at the Bushrangers clubhouse on the night of the clash with Orange, where the club will pay tribute to their 50 or so volunteers from the past decade.
