GEELONG WEST NOT EAGER TO GO UP A GRADE

AMID a potential mass exodus of clubs from GCA2, Geelong West has baulked at a chance to move up a division.

The Rams have spent the past three summers in GCA3 and president Tony Spence said his club was another year away from pushing for promotion.

Bell Park has been dumped from GCA2 due to salary cap breaches, while Modewarre has declared its interest in moving down to the third division.

Manifold Heights was relegated to GCA3 based on performance last season and has been open about its preference to play in the bottom competition, but it may be forced to return to GCA2.

Spence said with a young squad and its social rooms under construction, Geelong West would prefer to earn its way up a division through onfield performance rather than by default.

“Probably not this year, to be honest. There is probably a bit too much going on,” he said of potential promotion.

“We have no rooms, our social rooms are being knocked down so we don’t have facilities basically and there is a bit going on with coronavirus. Who knows what’s going on with the GCA, so we might wait and try and earn our spot in there, instead of being given it. We are not far off, but we are not quite there yet.

“It’s just our young kids getting more consistent with it and that will come with age.

“Our 19-year-olds will hopefully be a bit more consistent when they are 21.”

The Rams have recruited Jackson Turner from East Belmont and Englishman Stuart Green from Selsted Cricket Club in Dover.

Spence said his club was wary of shifting divisions before it was ready after it dropped from GCA1 in 2015-16 to GCA3 two seasons later.

“My thought is it’s not worth going up and getting beaten and then you are worse off than you were when you went up. We have been through it all before,” he said.

WE MIGHT WAIT AND TRY AND EARN OUR SPOT IN THERE, INSTEAD OF BEING GIVEN IT. WE ARE NOT FAR OFF, BUT WE ARE NOT QUITE THERE YET.”

TONY SPENCE, PICTURED