FOOTBALL Wagga is hopeful the Junee Jaguars will be in a position to return to the Pascoe Cup next season with preliminary final fixtures set to be played there this year.
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And the association's gala presentation night has been scrapped, with Football Wagga citing a lack of volunteers to help organise the event as the main factor.
Finals fixtures on the penultimate weekend are traditionally offered to a town outside Wagga. The decision made to send it to Junee to raise the profile of the code there, and give the club an opportunity to fundraise.
The Jaguars were unable to field a first grade men's side this year after winning the league in 2015, but their Leonard Cup women's side will finish the regular season in third.
The first two weeks of finals will take place in Wagga, with senior grand finals at Equex Centre on Sunday, September 22.
"For a number of years now we've offered an out of Wagga town a chance to host the second-last round," Football Wagga president Tony Dobbin said.
"That's to raise the profile of the sport in those towns, but also to be fundraisers for those particular clubs.
"It's a deliberate action to get our sport up and running in other towns."
Junee's Group Nine rugby league side, the Diesels, have also encountered issues which could affect their future this year.
Dobbin is hopeful the Jaguars will be in a position to return to the Pascoe Cup as soon as possible.
"We certainly do want them back, because it is hard to come back," Dobbin said.
"Clubs have come and gone in the past like Uranquinty, West Wagga and Forest Hill. One club trying to come back is Gundagai, they've fielded a third grade side under Cootamundra's banner the past two years."
Dobbin said the decision not to hold a presentation night was a disappointing one, with major award recipients likely to be announced throughout grand final day.
"We've relied on volunteers and basically no one came forward this year which is unfortunate, because it is a gala night for the association," he said.
"This year we're looking to do those announcements during grand final days. I don't know whether it's been done that way before, so we have to work out how to do it.
"The enthusiasm for the gala night has waned over the years. There's not a great attendance by people sometimes and it's not necessarily the highlight of the year for a lot of people, but for others it certainly is.
"We hope to bring it back next year, but we need volunteers to organise it."
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