Shuffle up top as club quits

MUDGEERABA will step away from the Premier League in 2020 in a move that has already created a ripple effect within Gold Coast football.

On a dramatic final day of the regular season, the Wallabies entered Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Burleigh Heads knowing their fate for next season had already been sealed.

Sitting seventh in the Premier League, they had been locked in to face the Coast League One runners up – a position Southport secured with a 1-1 draw against Robina City on Saturday night – in a playoff for the top flight.

However, the club on Thursday decided to exit the competition to focus on a rebuild, leaving Robina and Southport to replace Mudgeeraba and wooden-spooners Tweed United in 2020.

The Bulletin understands player numbers at the Wallabies, who will still enter a Coast League outfit next season, have almost halved – to 400-500 – since 2016.

Mudgeeraba president Paul Cameselle, who was elected at an extraordinary general meeting this month, said the club had to “step backwards to move forwards”.

“We need to rebuild the juniors,” Cameselle said.

“The junior direction is something we have looked at. We wanted to rebuild the philosophy and the direction the club is taking.

“You need to have a strong junior base to have a decent Premier League side and you want to have the majority of

your players coming from the junior ranks. We will come back and we will be back in there.”

In a Facebook post yesterday, Wallabies coach Jamie Boelen said he and his players were only informed of the club’s decision by Burleigh coach Colin Phelan shortly before kick-off the previous day.

However, Cameselle said the committee had made every attempt to inform Boelen on Thursday night.

“We were going to advise Jamie after training but he left in a huff,” he said. “He left without saying goodbye so we emailed him straight away to let him know, and we were going to leave it up to him to decide when to tell the players. He didn’t reply to that email.

“We never sacked Jamie but it looks like he’s leaving. It’s not a decision against Jamie or the players. There was a bigger picture we have to look at.”

In other Round 21 results, Nerang beat Tweed United 4-0 at Arkinstall Park; Broadbeach United prevailed 3-1 on the road against Palm Beach; and Surfers Paradise secured second spot with a 3-0 win at home to Coomera.

Robina’s draw with Southport secured the Coast League crown.