Moving on … Phil Lovell reflects on his short but memorable time at the WRFL. 59495 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
By Michael Esposito
WHOEVER takes the recently vacated operations and club development officer role at the Western Region Football League has some big shoes to fill.
Even though Phil Lovell’s tenure only lasted 12 months, he has left an indelible mark on the WRFL at a time when the league is in the throngs of momentous change.
Lovell has accepted a job with Alice Springs Town Council, working closely with local government and Charles Darwin University to develop new recreational facilities and programs for the community.
WRFL CEO Bob Tregear said Lovell had made a significant impact in mapping the future of the league, especially its junior competition, and felt he would have been the ideal person to guide the junior program going forward.
“He’s done a great job for the league, he’s put in a lot of work on market research in particular, and finding out what the make-up of our market area really is, where the people live, where the kids are going to school, what the shape of the competition needs to be into the future to best serve football in the region,” Tregear said.
Lovell, who was executive officer of the newly formed junior board before leaving the office on Friday, said the league was well-prepared for massive growth.
“We now have a group of people who are looking specifically at the junior competition and looking to develop the junior competition, and with the growth in Point Cook and Werribee I can certainly foresee in the future that there will be a number of teams and a number of clubs down that way,” he said.
Lovell said the structure of the junior competition would undergo significant changes to cope with the population spike in the western suburbs’ growth corridors.
“In 2011 and beyond I think you’ll start to see some new changes, as you have in the senior competition. I think for the first time in a long time you’ll start to see a lot of clubs grow slowly.
“I’ve been privileged in that I’ve been at the WRFL at a time where there’s been a lot of change, particularly with the relocation to Whitten Oval and with the introduction of Caroline Springs into the senior competition.
Despite his passion for the role, Lovell said he couldn’t knock back an opportunity to see a new part of Australia.
“I’ve travelled extensively around the world since I was 19. I’ve played cricket in Europe and travelled extensively to the United States and been all over the world and I’ve never really travelled in Australia. It was a good opportunity to see another state and a different community.”
