Harrow-Balmoral Football Netball Club has broken its silence following a series of incidents – some proven, some alleged – involving club members in the past decade.
An ABC podcast ‘Hometown Boys’ about the 2016 rape of a Balmoral woman and ensuing court trials, guilty verdicts, and response from the town, followed by an ABC online article detailing allegations of further incidents of rape, assault and drink-spiking, have put the spotlight on the Southern Roos in the past month.
Following the ABC reports, Horsham District Football Netball League board released a statement on Thursday, stating it was committed to ‘promoting safe, inclusive and respectful environments across all affiliated clubs’.
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The Harrow-Balmoral Football Netball Club committee had declined to comment to the ABC, but yesterday issued a written response to questions from The Weekly Advertiser.
The opening line of the statement read: “Harrow-Balmoral Football Netball Club acknowledges the events that occurred in 2016 involving a player of our club at that time. We reiterate clearly and unequivocally that we do not tolerate behaviour of this nature.”
In its statement, the Horsham District league board reaffirmed its ‘strong and ongoing commitments to the Communities of Respect and Equality Alliance, CoRE Alliance’.
The CoRE Alliance, a Women’s Health Grampians program, is a partnership of organisations, businesses, clubs and groups who share ‘a vision for safe, equal and respectful communities in the Grampians region’.
CoRE members commit to the CoRE strategy to prevent violence against women and children, guiding ‘individual organisations and collective work fostering communities of respect, equality and preventing violence against women’.
The alliance has 155 members across the Grampians region, including the HDFNL, and four of its clubs – Harrow-Balmoral; Laharum; Noradjuha-Quantong and Pimpinio.
Harrow-Balmoral Football Netball Club's statement addressed questions about its commitment to the alliance:
“We recognise that meaningful cultural change requires time, reflection, strong leadership, and sustained effort.
“We are committed to continuous improvement and to creating an environment where all members feel safe, supported and empowered to voice their concerns.
“As a member of the CoRE Alliance, we are determined to actively uphold and demonstrate the values of respect, equality, and accountability in everything we do.
“Our priority remains fostering a safe, equal, and respectful environment for all players, members, and our broader community.”
The Horsham District league board said the league was committed to ongoing learning, reflection and practical action to prevent gendered violence and advance gender equality.
“We recognise that cultural change takes time, strong leadership and consistent effort, and we are dedicated to playing our role in that,” the statement read.
“Sporting clubs are central to community life. They shape attitudes, model behaviours and influence the next generation.
“The HDFNL stands ready to support all clubs in building respectful cultures, implementing clear standards of behaviour and promoting zero tolerance for violence, discrimination and disrespect.”
The board also acknowledged ‘the women and men who shared their lived experience of violence and harm’.
“In rural and regional communities, speaking up can be particularly difficult. We commend those who do so in the hope of creating safer pathways for others and strengthening accountability across community settings,” the statement read.
The board encouraged clubs to seek guidance, resources and support in strengthening respectful club culture – offering to work alongside them to provide practical assistance and connections to appropriate services.
Women’s Health Grampians chief executive Jennie Courtney said CoRE Alliance consultants had spoken to HBFNC representatives in recent weeks and it was ‘positive they have expressed an interest in re-engaging with CoRE’.
“Conversations are ongoing about what that will look like – our training is tailored to the needs of individual clubs,” she said.
“We would note that while Harrow-Balmoral is currently under the spotlight, the gendered violence and associated fallout described in the podcast is not unique to this club or this region.
“Driven by gender inequality, gendered violence exists everywhere, from the halls of Parliament to the smallest country club. It is often handled poorly, both at local and systemic levels.
“In this case the victim spoke up, but many others do not because the potential repercussions, some detailed in the podcast, are too great to bear.
“This is why the violence prevention work CoRE members do is so vital – cultural change is long-term work, and changing entrenched attitudes and biases takes time.
“CoRE provides the structure our region needs to work together and make sure the message is heard from multiple directions, including workplaces, sporting clubs, schools and community groups.”
Ms Courtney said ongoing CoRE Alliance membership was contingent on ‘engagement, action and commitment’, but WHG had procedures in place to exit members if their engagement fell away significantly, or organisations could also request to exit.
“We are willing to work with any organisation whose leadership demonstrates a genuine commitment to learning, self-reflection, and engaging with violence prevention and gender equality work, regardless of where they are at in their gendered violence prevention journey,” she said.
“We recognise that some organisations, particularly smaller volunteer-based organisations like football clubs, can face capacity and cultural issues that slow progress in their gender equity work.”
Ms Courtney said WHG had a sports-specific CoRE consultant, Vernetta Taylor, working in the Wimmera for the past 18 months.
“It has been great to see the response from the sector, with sporting clubs from all codes stepping up and committing to do what they can within their sphere of influence to create safe, respectful, inclusive spaces for all,” she said.
“Safe, respectful and inclusive environments grow out of strong leadership and a genuine desire to change things for the better. There are gender equity champions in every sports setting we have encountered.
“While they sometimes face significant barriers to making change, their presence, courage, and determination is inspiring. We support any efforts to amplify those voices.”
People affected by violence or assault can call The Orange Door on 1800 271 042; MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78; or 1800RESPECT.
The entire March 4, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
