In what has been a whirlwind five days for the Bulldogs, after being denied entry to the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League last Friday, Central Highlands Football League president Eddy Comelli slammed the door shut on the club’s re-entry into the CHFL.

“They are not part of the Central Highlands Football League – it’s not going to happen, we’re adamant,” Comelli told The Courier over the weekend.

Smythesdale president John Cranny said there had been an “emotional” response to the firm comments by Comelli, but he said it was now a matter of moving forward and assessing the club’s options.

“It’s all about trying to find a solution to where we’re at,” Cranny told The Courier.

“It’s just a process of talking to Goldfields and finding out what we can do, then we need to talk to our senior players to see where they’re at.”

The club will hold its annual general meeting next Monday, with the next seven days set to be defining for the struggling Bulldogs.

Smythesdale currently fields all five netball teams and four of the five football teams, having played without a senior side in the Central Highlands Football League for the past two seasons.

Having been shunned by two leagues, the Mininera District Football League is another that comes to mind. Cranny said the MDFL had been discussed previously, but nothing had formally been put on the table.

Regardless of the club’s outcome, AFL Goldfields regional general manager Rod Ward guaranteed football to be played at the quality facilities of Smythesdale in 2019.