The 2026 season may be the last time we see Bright compete in the Ovens and King Football Netball League, as the club ramps up its intent to leave the league for neighbouring Tallangatta and District league.

The club has formally started the process of transferring across to a different league, in accordance with AFL Victoria regulations.

United Bright Football Netball Club vice president Rob Love said the driving factor behind the application was the retention of junior footballers and netballers through the grades.

Currently, TDFL consists of 12 member clubs, with four football grades (under 14s, under 17s, reserves, seniors) and seven netball divisions (13 and under, 15 and under, 17 and under, C reserve, C grade, B grade, A grade).

Conversely, the 11-club O&K offers just the reserves and seniors football competitions, and five netball grades, commencing with 15 and under.

The Bright Junior Football Club - the club’s affiliate presence in the local Wangaratta and District Junior Football League - fields teams in the under 12, under 14 and under 17 competitions.

“The junior netball and junior football club are really driving our application,” Love said.

“We’re losing so many of our netball girls into Myrtleford because we don’t have an under 11s or under 13s competition for them to go into.

“We’ve got 40 NetSetGO girls come out of our netball program, and we haven’t got a pathway for them into our under 15s because the age groups are so far apart.

“The netball is a big one, but junior football is huge for us because we don’t have thirds in the O&K and we tend to lose a lot of our kids to Myrtleford or they stop playing completely because they don’t have that connection to the senior club.

“Numbers are booming, we’ve got over 100 registered junior footballers.

“We’re heading in the complete opposite direction to where the O&K are positioning themselves, into a seniors and seconds football competition.

“Our last delegates meeting left me astounded they haven’t got a vision for a thirds competition or at least trying to do something about the age demographic of players who are still playing – the 38–45-year-olds who are holding the competition up, it can’t go on forever.”

Bright has been a member of the O&K since 1955, but the league is no stranger to clubs coming and going, especially to the TDFL.

Chiltern (2003), Beechworth (2004), and Rutherglen (2004) are the most recent clubs to move from the O&K to TDFL.

Love said the club’s conversations with the now-TDFL clubs further reinforced their decision to apply for a transfer.

“The biggest takeaway I got from those clubs was the club got turbocharged, went bananas as far as finances, sponsorship, people at the games, volunteers,” he said.

“Financially it was huge for them and they just haven’t looked back...they said it was the best decision they’ve ever made.

“They were surprised we haven’t tried again since the last attempt in 2012.”

The process is ongoing, with the next step the club can take being the submission of an Intention to Transfer Form with the O&K and AFL Victoria, which must be completed by 30 June at 5pm.

The TDFL and O&K must first meet and “address the justification and supporting evidence of the transfer”, per AFL Vic guidelines.

Then, it’s up to the TDFL to see whether they accept the application, but Love believes firmly Bright will be in the TDFL next season.

“Absolutely, there’s no reason why it can’t [be successful],” he said.

“A strong Bright Football Netball Club in the valley in the TDFL helps everyone.”

The club awaits word the two leagues have met and discussed, with the deadline for the Intention to Transfer Form sitting at 5pm on 30 June.