A MONTH after an offer was officially put to Portland Football Netball Cricket Club (PFNCC) by the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) about joining a potential new league, the club has announced its decision to turn down that offer and remain in the Hampden Football Netball League (HFNL).

A statement provided to the Portland Observer by the Portland committee, led by President Troy Bannam, said the goal now is to “strive for improvement both on and off the field.”

“After many weeks of deliberation Portland Football Netball Cricket Club has decided to remain in the Hampden Football Netball League moving forward,” it read.

“We would like to thank SANFL and Shawn Ford Head of Community Football for their time and effort in this process.

“PFNCC sincerely hope all clubs in all leagues can survive and thrive in these difficult times.”

Bannam said he was pleased the club had been able to come to a decision about its future, adding that it was good to see that they wanted to continue to compete in one of country football and netball’s major leagues.

“It’s good to know that (the club) want to play against the best there is to offer,” Bannam said.

“The goal now is to continue to build the club up and see it keeps getting better in both football and netball.”

SANFL representative Ford said while they were disappointed Portland had chosen not to head into a South Australian-based league, he understood they were doing what was best for their club.

“I spoke to Troy (on Tuesday) and we’re fully supportive of their decision to stick with Hampden… we would have loved to have them coming across the border, but we completely respect the decision,” Ford said.

There is still a significant amount of upheaval in the border region of SANFL as clubs and leagues alike attempt to figure out what is best for the future of community sport.

Previously, the plan had suggested the Western Border Football League and Netball Association disband and the number of leagues in the border area reduce to two.

However, the current strategy is to maintain three leagues in the region with Ford saying Portland’s decision not to get involved won’t change that direction.

“It’s one team that comes out of the equation for us… but we’re pressing on with our planning,” he said.

“We’re pretty firm on wanting to keep three leagues in action… there are other clubs within South Australia who we’ll turn to as possible options.”

For his part, Hampden league president Shane Threlfall said he was “over the moon” when Bannam gave him the news that Portland was planning to stay.

“We’re rapt that the club has chosen to stick with us, we’ve been on the record saying that a 10-teamcompetition is ideal and that’s what we’ll be able to maintain,” Threlfall said.

“We understand they had to do their due diligence… they’ve got the best interests of their players and club as a whole in mind.”

Portland raised a number of issues with the league, with one of their key concerns relating to finals allocations.

Threlfall said the league is keen to address those issues, saying their goal is to ensure Portland remains an integral part of the competition.

“In general terms, any time a club brings up concerns about the league, those are always brought to our committee so they can be addressed appropriately, and this case is no different,” he said.