There must have been a rethink, as some clubs were already told back in May that its 2 down at the conclusion of this season, with the intention of Narre coming in & now Berwick Springs voting to come across - rumoured to be into Div 3.
I can't see how it can work with fixturing without having a 2 down this season, for a competition that has a 10/10/8/8 divisional competition.
11 teams in 2025 will see a 20 week H/A fixture that has everyone playing each other twice
Add into fixturing:
• Round 1: April 5th (earliest possible start)
• Easter Saturday April 19
• Intended Interleague: May 10 (will have to be canned)
• King's birthday weekend
• Top 5 = 4 weeks of finals
• Grand final 20/21 September as AFL Grand final will be 27th September
Food for thought here
2 down in div 1 & 2 will see a 10/10/10/8 comp
12/10/8/8 next year - two up from D2, plus Narre, and one down.
D2 loses an extra club to D1, but gains Berwick Springs - still 10 clubs.
10/10/10/8 following year - three relegations from D1 and D2
Think that is fairest, everybody gets plenty of notice of what is coming.