THE name and mascot of the amalgamated side made of North Central football teams Nullawil and Wycheproof-Narraport has been announced: the Calder United Lions.
The two clubs will become one next season as they merge in an effort to combat dwindling junior participation numbers and ensure local people can enjoy local sport.
Separated by just 28 kilometers of the Calder Highway, the stretch of road now doubles as the connective tissue between the new club’s localities.
The mascot and naming were chosen after the efforts of a working group between the two clubs, with a jersey and an official logo still to come.
Nullawil Football Netball Club president Grant Kelly said the name Calder United also allowed the club to be future-proof in case of future mergers.
“The way the future is looking, there may be more clubs down the Calder that would need to merge and if that’s the case they can join Calder United,” Kelly said.
“It’s about future-proofing local football – that’s what the thinking was behind the choice.
“The majority of the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Even across the entire league, it’s been positive.
“Following our match last Saturday we had a big meeting with both sides upstairs at the clubrooms where they announced it to everyone.
“It was a magnificent feeling.
“It’s all positive signs from here on out.”
Members of each club were given the opportunity to suggest the mascot for the new club as the two clubs looked for a neutral mascot to represent the fresh start.
Kelly said he didn’t know where idea of the Lions began but that it was a good representation of the new club.
“I have no idea where the Lion came from but it’s something quite different from Nullawil’s maroon man and the Wycheproof-Narraport demon,” he said.
“At the end it had come down to a decision between the Lions and the Jets.
“Thankfully it ended up being the Lions. I think the right choice was made there.
“The final colours and jersey are still up in the air but they’ve tried to keep a little bit of both sides in it.
“Maroon and navy blue are what we are currently looking at.”
Kelly said while the players had downplayed the impact of the merger talks, the official announcement would offer some needed stability.
“It has been very unstable as far as the players have been concerned,” he said.
“They like to say it hasn’t affected them but on-field you can see that it has with all the ups and downs and the unknown.
“But now it’s almost all official, from here on in both sides should be that bit more settled.
“There has been no discussion about coaches and player contracts as of yet but we all need to get together and organise coaching staff soon before other clubs start talking to people.
“We don’t care if either coach takes over for next year – both our and Wyche’s coaches are very good coaches.
“With a bit of luck, that should all be sorted out in the next couple of weeks.”
Wycheproof-Narraport president Ricky Allan said he had seen strong support from both clubs for the merger and the new identity.
“For me personally, the name wasn’t a major concern,” he said.
“The important thing is keeping a thriving community with healthy sporting teams.
“We need to make sure that our juniors have somewhere to play football, netball and hockey for the years to come.
“I think from what we saw on Saturday night with the number of people we had up in the clubrooms, people support this.
“When you’ve got so many passionate supporters from two different clubs you’re just not going to be able to keep everybody happy.
“But majority rules, and we’ve done our best to keep as many people happy as possible.”
The Maroons and the Demons will clash at least one more time this season, with both sides still in with a shot of finals football.
As Nullawil and Wycheproof-Narraport sit in fourth and fifth places respectively, Kelly said it would be “absolutely gold” to make finals over their future clubmates.
Allan agreed with the sentiment, and said the unique situation added to the competition of this season.
“It’s funny how it’s all worked out,” he said.
“The situation is unique to both clubs and is one of those things that gives you a good laugh.
“They’re a part of a group of four or five of us who are battling for the third or fourth position.
“I’d be disappointed if they weren’t trying to beat us to the finals.
“They’re very similar to us as a club, and we’ll both be putting our best feet forward and not taking it easy on each other.
“We’ve got a healthy respect with Nullawil. That’s why we are merging with them.”
