DOLPHINS board member James Crowder said the loss of the club’s playing licence for next season was a “sad day for Frankston”.
But, he said: “We are determined to get it back by proving that we are a viable concern.
“We have a great facility, one of the best in the VFL, and we have got to get together to put a case that it is sustainable.
“Everyone hopes that in 2018 we will be back on the field once we have proven we are a viable performer.
“The AFL will assist us because they know that we are very important integrally [to the VFL].”
Mr Crowder said he and the rest of the club’s four-man board – president John Georgiou, Ash Roberts and Shane Bowland – were commited to the club’s future and that others had “come out of the woodwork” to rally when its future looked grim.
“There’s been overwhelming community support for the club and we’ll be doing everything we can to get it back up and running.”
Dunkley MP Chris Crewther said a steering committee of local business and community leaders “would be the next step to move forward to prove the club’s viability”.
“Creditors must make a positive decision on Monday, or be given more time to come to an arrangement,” he said.
“The community and local leaders then need to get behind the club to prove its financial viability, to raise funds and to set in place better governance structures in conjunction with the board, in order to meet the conditions of the VFL licence and to apply to be re-granted the licence.”
He said future viability could be assured by creditors waiving or compromising on debts; restructuring and [making] significant plans to prove the club to be long-term financially viable; and through large fundraising efforts.
The administrator Paul Burness said it was “curious” AFL Victoria had arranged to meet with the club’s former board on Thursday when, in reality, he became the club after it was placed in a trading halt.
Adding to the confusion, the AFL said on Wednesday it had “not provided any advice to the club regarding [its] license and will meet with [it] on Thursday”.
Former captain Paul Kennedy cited the club’s fostering of AFL talent: “As for the on-field performance, in the past seven years there have been 10 former Dolphins drafted into the AFL – the most from any VFL team. And these include two grand-finalists in Matt Boyd and Tory Dickson and their coach Luke Beveridge.
“The team does need to win more games, and that will happen if AFL Victoria works with the club to appoint an experienced, quality coach who can turn the on-field fortunes around,” he said.
“What football in this region needs is AFL Victoria working with the Dolphins to improve the pathway for young footballers. I don’t see why they can’t do that and keep alive a Frankston institution that has been around for 129 years.”
