Why it was 365 days between drinks

THERE’S a toilet and one shower that the Traralgon footballers aren’t supposed to use, left in their old rooms.

The netballers, let’s be honest, have never had decent facilities at Traralgon so the catastrophic Traralgon Creek flood of June 2021 could end up being a blessing in disguise for them.

But, after clearing away the mud and mess left in and around the dilapidated player facilities at the Whittakers Road Reserve, adding a village of potables, and getting the necessary approvals, sport was back at the Traralgon Recreation Reserve last Saturday.

It had been exactly a year, 365 days to be precise, since the players had been able to run out of their own rooms and they celebrated with a hard-fought, four-point win over Wonthaggi.

But the battle’s not over, according to Traralgon FNC President Kevin Foley, who spoke to the Sentinel-Times after umpiring the Reserves’ game on matchday.

“The floodwaters came up to here,” he says, showing the level, almost a metre up the wall of the players’ rooms.

Filthy mud and slush cascaded past players’ lockers, through the whole facility, leaving a building that might have been, should have been condemned.

“The whole project’s going to cost $10.2 million. We’ve only got $4.75 million so far, including the $2.75 million from the State Budget but no amount of local fundraising is going to bridge that gap,” he said.

“We’ll probably launch an appeal for extras later, but it needs a contribution from the Federal Government now.”

Mr Foley said the ‘$10 million Traralgon Flood Recovery’ project brief included a flood-proof multi-use pavilion, where the Tony Lane Stand and changerooms was presently located at the Traralgon Recreation Reserve and a new community hub and events space at Glenview Park.

“You’ve seen what we’ve had to do to get the football and netball back here again. The project is desperately needed.”

But, despite the fact that it’s a ‘shovel-ready’ flood-recovery project, neither side of Federal politics has so far pledged the money, only days out from the election.