Grassroots snubbed, says volunteer

A FORMER State League football club president is leading a revolt against “over the top” pay rises to “greedy” AFL administrators and players while grassroots clubs and their volunteers are left out in the cold.

Dennis Fuller believes a slice of the recent $1.84 billion, six-year pay deal for the AFL’s 850 players could have been channelled back into grassroots football to help the clubs that produced the players in the first place.

Fuller has written a letter to AFL boss Gill McLachlan voicing his anger, and says he speaks for hundreds of volunteers statewide.

“We stand in the cold on entry gates, work in kiosks, sell raffle tickets, run bingo sessions, clean up after players, wash jumpers, work in time boxes, run water out, go through first-aid courses to support players on game day and during training sessions, cook barbecues, put many hours on committees as well as the many other tasks it takes to run an AFL club,” he said.

“We don’t do it because we want to be paid, we do it to give kids a chance to get to the top. We just want some help doing that.”

Fuller has been a club volunteer for 40 years, including president of the Southern Cats in the previous state league, and is a volunteer for the TSL Tigers, but is voicing his unrest independent of the club.

“Being a volunteer for a football club is like beating your head against a brick wall. More and more of us are deciding to pull the pin,” he said.

Other volunteers agree with Fuller, including the TSL’s reigning Volunteer of the Year, Edna Pennicot, 70, who has been pitching in for 35 years.

“I’d like more money to come back to the clubs to make life a little bit easier,” Pennicott said.

“I love volunteering. I love the people, I love the players and it’s a really good feeling.”

If she met McLachlan face to face, she would say: “Hand us over a few dollars.”

Fuller is waiting to hear back from AFL House.