Fans call for AFL transparency over Roos relocation

Kangaroos supporters have challenged the AFL and club officials to publicly come clean on their position on moving the Roos to the Gold Coast.

Speculation over whether the Kangaroos will relocate to the Gold Coast permanently in 2010 has been rampant in recent days, along with a whispering campaign about the club’s financial future should it decide to stay in Melbourne.

Kangaroos officials and the club’s rudderless board, without a chairman after Graham Duff’s decision to stand down at Wednesday’s board meeting, haven’t helped matters by refusing to comment publicly on the issue.

Newly-formed supporters group We Are North Melbourne (WANM) chairman David Wheaton said fans, criticised in some quarters for their perceived silence on relocation, had done so because they had faith in those running the Kangaroos.

But now their trust has given way to frustration, with WANM set up on Monday to try to return power to members.

Unlike other AFL clubs, Kangaroos members have no direct voting power when it comes to key decisions because of the club’s unwieldy share structure.

“We’ve given the club the benefit of the doubt for a long time now. We know it’s a tough environment out there to compete in, so we’ve supported the club for a very long time,” Wheaton told AAP.

“But I think everyone’s said `this is enough’. When we’re talking about the future and location of the club, we need a say.

“We’re incredibly frustrated that the club doesn’t come out and put their cards on the table.

“Everything’s happening behind closed doors.

“The club needs to stand up for itself, and if the AFL has a position, they need to come out of the shadows and state their position and let us have the debate and put the propositions to public scrutiny.

“Then let the members decide. Then it’s beyond doubt what the members want.”

An AFL spokesman said any decision on relocation was up to the club’s board.

But the AFL has regularly expressed its desire to have a permanent presence on the Gold Coast by 2010, and the Kangaroos’ three-year deal to play 10 games at Carrara between 2007 and 2009 has made them a prime target to shift base.

The club’s board will discuss a possible Gold Coast move at its meeting on Wednesday.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou is expected to attend the meeting to put the league’s position on relocation to the board.

© 2007 AAP

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