HAMPDEN Football Netball League (HFNL) has appointed Shane Threlfall as its new president to lead the league in 2022 for what is shaping up to be the first ‘normal’ season since the conclusion of 2019.

Threlfall was elected unopposed at Monday night’s league Annual General Meeting and steps into the role following the resignation of Garry Perrett after a tough period.

He has a significant coaching background, having been involved in some capacity for the last decade and was hoping to carry that experience into the presidential role.

“I’m really excited about it … the fact that I’ve been involved in the HFNL for so many years means I’ve got a good rapport with lots of people and am not starting from scratch which is good,” he said.

“He (Garry Perrett) was president during the toughest time the Hampden league has ever experienced, I’d love to continue the work Garry started.

“I’ve been president at clubs before and I’ve been in coaching positions, but in terms of president of a league, this is my first time.”

While he has coached premierships at Nirranda, and spent time at Koroit and Terang-Mortlake, his most recent coaching role was at Port Fairy last year, where he was assistant coach to Winis Imbi.

“I was at Port Fairy with Winis for the last couple of years, it was really challenging at club level due to COVID,” he said.

“It was (tough) to stay positive and keep the boys engaged when you don’t know if you’ll get a game on the weekend.

“It’s been a real battle for the clubs … while we are not out of the woods yet, we hope we can get a full season and a finals series, I think people have really been missing that.”

Threlfall said the opportunity to lead the league was a big shock but wanted to give back through taking on the position.

Having seen the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic had presented from a club perspective, he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of the inevitable decisions and the difficulty of getting volunteers.

“It (the presidency) came completely out of the blue, I finished up at Port (Fairy) and then a couple weeks ago, Gary Walsh rang me and asked if we could sit down and have a chat,” Threlfall said.

“Prior to that, I’d never really considered it to be honest.

“Being at club level for so long, there is difficulty getting volunteers and I thought I’d put my hand up and take on the role because I know how hard it can be.”

While the role was still completely new for Threlfall, he along with the rest of the board had already started implementing plans and goals for season 2022.

 While the regular things would be discussed, so would some new approaches and plans for getting back to a normal season.

“We are in the process of developing a strategic plan that’s being done with the clubs, we will get the raw data and then go to clubs for their feedback,” he said.

“It is a bit of a process, but it does give everyone a clear understanding of where we are going as a league.

“(Getting a full season in) would be fantastic, that’s something we’ve all missed, and it certainly affected your enthusiasm at times.”

The HFNL bounced back well from the cancelled 2020 season, experiencing a huge increase in sponsorships over the past 12 months and showing how powerful community support can be.

Threlfall said Hampden League Live was a huge contributor to the league, receiving $197,727 in sponsorship in 2021 after next to nothing the previous year.

He hoped to continue the positive direction from a financial and on-field perspective following a profit of $31,669 last season – rebounding from a huge loss of $32,712 in 2020.

“The league is in a sound financial position, there has been some really good work in the sponsorship area, it has increased which is a great effort during COVID,” Threlfall said.

“Hampden League Live and the live coverage has been a great initiative, there is a little bit of tweaking, so the quality of non-live games is improved, but all those things are points for discussion.”

The new president also expressed his excitement about having had a number of former AFL players in the league over the past couple seasons and marquee signing for next season, Nathan Vardy.

“I reckon it’s fantastic and probably something that did happen years ago, but there was probably a period where we found it hard to get those players at the Hampden league level,” he said.

“It gives a real buzz around the players and clubs, Nathan Vardy, Tyrone Vickery and Shane Savage, the experience those guys have is invaluable at this level.”

Threlfall hadn’t put any thought into going beyond 2022 at the current time, but said it was something he would look to continue, provided it was working out.

“If they are happy with the job I do and I’m comfortable with the role, I’d love to continue,” he said.

“For a president to serve 2-3 years is always good, but that revolves around if all parties involved are happy with the job that’s being done.”