The ‘GVL Club’ idea came following significant interest of past GVL interleague games and players in the lead up to the 2026 edition when the purple and gold played the Victorian Amateur Football Association.
While in its infancy, its long-term vision is to eventually form a large enough association where past players of both sporting codes can have functions and events to reflect on the memories and experiences of playing GVL interleague.
"The recent interleague campaign reminded us just how much representative football and netball means to people across the Goulburn Valley,“ GVL board chair Peter Foott said.
"We saw tremendous support for our senior and 19-and-under football teams - as well as our open netballers at the state championships - but we also saw strong interest in the stories of those who played before them.
“We’ve also had great success in representative netball at junior level.
“The GVL Club is about creating a connection between those generations.
“We want to preserve the history of representative sport in our league, celebrate the people who built that tradition and inspire the players who will wear the colours in the future.”
With the GVL set to play the VAFA in a home fixture next year, there are hopes the GVL Club will be lifted off the ground and running ahead of the 2027 clash.
Daniel Irwin, who oversees the league’s interleague portfolio, hopes the past players club will become a key cause of inspiration in the next representative campaign and the local fixturing can attract former representatives to attend.
"Next year presents a fantastic opportunity because we’ll be welcoming the VAFA to our region," Irwin said.
"We would love to see former representatives involved in that build-up and helping tell the story of interleague football and netball in the Goulburn Valley.
"There's no better way to inspire future representatives than by connecting them with the people who helped create our history."
