Pirates keelhauled

By Shaun Inguanzo and Glen Atwell
THE Parkmore Pirates Football Club is dead, ending a lengthy yet tragic tale of Shakespearian proportions for local football.
The arousing tale of the Keysborough-based Southern Football League (SFL) Division Two club this week climaxed with the club folding after an investigation by AFL Victoria.
The investigation revealed the club could not afford to continue playing after it was plagued by a series of unfortunate events.
Just last year, the Pirates were drinking from the cup of glory with an astonishing premiership-winning performance in the SFL’s Division Three competition.
But the fairytale turned sour when former coach and financier Richard Houston soon after fell out with club management and left.
With the club unable to pay its talent top dollars, players, including star forward Danny Cassett, began leaving for other teams.
The undermanned, poorly funded team then sought a new coach in former Keysborough coach Paul Jeffries.
But in February, just months before the start of the 2007 season, police arrested and charged Mr Jeffries in relation to a series of armed robberies, bringing a premature end to his coaching days with Parkmore.
Early signs of an uncertain future appeared this month when the club pulled its reserves side from the competition.
AFL Victoria then conducted an investigation into the club.
On Tuesday the SFL met with Parkmore to discuss the findings, and recommend the club fold.
The official term, according to SFL chief executive Phil Stevens, is that the club has been placed into ‘recess’ – stripping it of the right to play football until it can prove its sustainability.
And if the club, which owes thousands of dollars to the league, wants to play football next year, it is unlikely to be in the seniors.
Mr Stevens said the AFL Victoria findings recommended that if the Pirates regrouped before next season, then the club should field an under 18 side – not a senior side.
He said the decision to fold had to be made this week to allow players to transfer to other clubs before the 30 June player clearance deadline.
“Parkmore just does not have enough players at the moment to be able to play,” Mr Stevens said.
“The club has only 22 players and on any given weekend there are always five or six unavailable due to illness or injury.
“The league sees (the recess) as a reasonable chance for Parkmore to recoup. Otherwise it would be incurring ongoing debts as it continues to play.”
Mr Stevens would not reveal the sum of Parkmore’s debt, but when asked if the amount was a couple of thousand, he replied “if we were talking thousands then it (the debt) wouldn’t matter”.
All clubs in Division Two have played Parkmore once this season.
The competition enters its second half of the season this weekend, and Mr Stevens said remaining clubs would have a bye on the dates they were originally scheduled to play the Pirates.
Star contacted the Parkmore Pirates about the decision, but did not receive a response.