Heywood, which plays in the Western Border Football League (WBFL), will consider crossing to the South West District Football Netball League (SWDFNL), a move which could potentially impact on several leagues in the region.

Lions president Michael Bell said that letters had been sent to financial members to attend a meeting next week, when they will be given the opportunity to say which direction the club should head next year.

“We’ve got some challenges,” he said.

“We need to recruit 25 to 30 footballers for 2012 and we also need 10 netballers suitable to play A grade.

“The juniors who are coming through is an issue as well.

“We’ve got to get more juniors playing.”

This season the Lions are without a reserves football side and an A grade netball side.

Heywood’s senior football team is yet to record a victory this year after 13 WBFL matches.

Next Tuesday’s meeting will include discussion on where the club should play in 2012, with the SWDFNL a serious option.

“We were approached by them a couple of years ago,” Bell said.

“The reason why we’re looking at it now is there’s some good committee people who have expressed a desire to look at our challenges and how to find some solutions.

“There is support to stay (in Western Border) and there is also a strong push to look at alternate leagues.”

Bell said with a handful of Heywood’s players attending university in Ballarat, the most recent uni holidays meant that the club had just managed to field a senior side in the past few rounds.

“The last few weeks we’ve got the bare 23 together to play,” he said.

“But we expect to have around 30 people available for the last five games.”

In their past 56 games, the Lions seniors have won nine matches — all of which came last year when they recruited former AFL players Mal Michael, Courtney Johns, Brad Fuller and Brad Smith.

Despite this season’s winless record in the top grade, Bell said that spirits were still high at the club.

“In the first half of the season, it was just a matter of survival but now the players have gelled,” he said.

“Socially, the club’s great.”

He acknowledged that Heywood, a founding Western Border club, had been a strong supporter of the WBFL, which had provided several Lions players — such as Essendon’s Nathan Lovett-Murray — with opportunities to progress to a higher level of football.

South West District president Kevin Farley said the league would be open to talks with the Lions if they wanted to join the SWDFNL, which is an eight-club competition.

“But that’s up to Heywood and you would then have to go through and get confirmation from the other clubs and the VCFL,” he said.

Western Border has been a 10-team competition since 1995, when Coleraine crossed to SWDFNL where it has won the past four premierships.

Penola left the WBFL after the 1987 season to join the Kowree-Naracoorte league.

WBFL chief executive officer David Heard could not be reached by The Standard yesterday.

Heywood’s meeting comes after former champion Hamilton Imperials footballer Shane McKew last month called on his old club to amalgamate with its WBFL rival Hamilton and field a side in the Hampden Football Netball League next season.

kbutler@standard.fairfax.com.au