A committee was formed in December and pre-season training was being held at River Park regularly, however a lack of numbers for the senior grade remains too great of a problem.

Last year the Blues were forced to withdraw from the competition after a series of forfeits placed the club under huge pressure midway through the season.

“We probably had 10 or 15 pre-season training runs but each time we only had four or five blokes, it wasn’t enough. There’s not much you can do,” Blues 2017 captain Chris Day said.

The club had to nominate a side by the end of February and provide a $500 deposit to ensure there’ll be 20 players registered by the end of March. Day said about 10 players were interested.

“There’s not much more you can do. We’ve tried our hardest, you can’t drag blokes to play,” Day said.

“We’ve never really had big playing numbers so when a few retire and few move away it makes it hard.”

It doesn’t spell the end of AFL in town by any means. 

The senior women’s side is in preparation for the beginning of the Central West season.

They continue training on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

While Blues under-12s and under-14s teams, and possibly an under-16s team, continue development in the junior program.

A women’s youth side is also expected to form.

The committee will regroup at the end of the year to see whether a return to the senior men’s competition is a possibility in 2019.

Day wasn’t sure whether he’d line-up for another outfit in 2018, and he hadn’t heard whether any of his Blues teammates would link with rival clubs.

“We’ll be trying to get back as soon we can. We still have a committee,” Day said.

The Blues won the senior men’s Central West AFL premiership in 2016.