From footy to farmers, Rovers Football Club expects bumper haul to support changeroom upgrades

Football clubs are often built around a good crop of youngsters but Rovers Football Club has taken this idea a step further as they began their annual crop harvest on Wednesday. For the past eight years, the Rovers have been growing wheat as their main source of income, harvesting the commodity to furnish upgrades and improvements to the club. This year’s crops will help fund one of their biggest upgrades to date as the club looks to overhaul their ageing changerooms to provide dedicated female facilities, in a first for the GNFL and perhaps regional WA. Rovers president Daniel Starling said it was the single most important fundraising venture the club undertook, with this year’s crop being their best so far. “The first year we didn’t really know what we were doing and we turned over about $30,000 which amounted to about $10,000 in profit,” he said. “Over the years this has increased to over $100,000 and without this money, I don’t even know if we’d be around. “Things have been really tough over COVID a lot of clubs closed and we definitely wouldn’t be the club we are without these funds and I’m not sure if we’d be open at all.” Rovers started with a single paddock donated to them by Trevor Allen and his family and now have three paddocks consisting of about 100ha. Starling said the success of the project had been built on the back of the community and the driving will of his father Mark to get the project off the ground. “He brought it to the table a few times and we thought it couldn’t be done and wasn’t worth it and now it’s grown to what it is he did a lot of great work to get it going,” he said. “It was tricky in the early years, we started fires, we had breakdowns and we honestly had no idea what we were doing. “But we’ve had a lot of help from different people and businesses over that time not charging their normal fees and donating equipment and time to help grow this initiative. “Class Harvest have supplied the header, Great Southern Fuels have supplied us with fuel, AFGRI has helped year after year with seeding and harvesting. “Jomar AG and SMS group supplying equipment and SMS also given us a paddock this year while Geraldton freightlines provide free haulage along with Qube.” While some money will be put towards next year’s crop and day-to-day club expenses, Starling said the majority would go towards the changeroom upgrades. “Having a women’s team has done a lot for our footy club on and off the field, it’s added a whole new dynamic to the club,” he said. “We do try our best to keep the women and men on a level playing field but this will really show the girls we are a club who’s willing to put into them. “I can’t wait to open them, it’s been something a long time in the making and I know as the coach of our women’s side it will mean a lot to the girls and help attract new players to the club.” The changerooms are expected to come in at just under $1 million, with the cost being split three ways between the club, council and Department of Local Government and Sport with the hope of it being completed midway through the 2023 season.