League administrator Diane Ryan used the CHFL website to post a scathing reply to a comment published in The Courier on Saturday, before president Eddy Comelli also backed the struggling Bulldogs, which sacked their head coach Glenn Treacy last week amidst a horror run for the senior team.

Ryan said a decision to prompt a club to fold does not lie with a league’s board of management.

“If clubs across the state who are having a bad run are urged to fold it is a sad reflection on communities who can not see past the senior team,” Ryan wrote.

“Note the Smythesdale junior team in the top eight and the 15 and 13 and under netball teams who are doing well.

“There have been many clubs over the years who have experienced the same issue as Smythesdale are going through now and have worked hard to become competitive again, if these clubs had folded there would be few clubs left in the CHFL competition.”

Ryan was returning fire at a comment that labelled Smythesdale a burden on the competition and urged league powers to step in.

Comelli told The Courier that the league would continue to stand by a club in trouble.

“All we can do is support them. We have had Brett Anderson (Ballarat region development manager) in there as well trying to assist them with management of the club, but really at the end of the day they are independent and need to make whatever decision they need to do to improve their club,” Comelli said.

Comelli also said it was not the board of management’s place to make decisions on a club’s future.

Smythesdale has won just one senior game since joining the Central Highlands competition in 2011 and has managed just nine goals in 12 rounds this year. The reserves team is also on the bottom of the ladder, with just 12 goals in 2014.

tim.oconnor@fairfaxmedia.com.au