But in 2020, they’ve come together to give their next generation of football stars a chance to play the game they love.
The clubs have entered teams in the Bendigo Junior Football League with the under 16 side falling under the LBU entity and under 18s known as Leitchville-Gunbower.
And both sides got their seasons off to the perfect start with big wins at Leitchville on Saturday.
LBU president Colin Bacon said it was exciting to see juniors finally get back out on the park.
“It was important for both clubs to offer some type of football this year because we would have risked losing players heading into 2021,” he said.
“Unfortunately, if we lost players to other clubs there was no guarantee they would have come back next season.
“The coaches were really impressed with how the teams played considering they’ve only had one training session together.
“We have a great relationship with Leitchville-Gunbower and we’re extremely thankful for how well we’ve been able to work together to get this up and running.”
Leitchville-Gunbower vice-president Tim Kingma saw the new relationship flourish in front of him on Saturday, umpiring one of two games on the day.
“It was great to see the kids out on the ground and smiling,” he said.
“From the moment we knew there was an opportunity to get our players out on the ground, the club was going to do everything in its power to do so.
“A lot of credit has to go the spectators at the ground as well. Looking around, it was fantastic to see that so many people were doing the right thing.
“I’m looking forward to watching the two teams grow in the coming weeks.”
Under 16s
LBU 16.15 (111) def. Sandhurst 2.3 (15)
Goals: C. Gibbs-McDonald 5, D. Verhey 4, R. Armstrong 2, D. Koch, S. Felmingham, J. Rorke, E. Brentnall, O. Smartt.Best: E. Brentnall, O. Smartt, H. Wright, D. Verhey, A. Prout, C. Gibbs-McDonald.
Under 18s
Leitchville-Gunbower 24.12 (156) def. Newbridge 1.1 (7)
Goals: D. Dick-O''Flaherty 6, A. Windridge 4, B. Hawken 4, H. Danziger 3, H. Byrne 2, W. Ross 2, C. Cox 2, R. Varcoe.Best: D. Dick-O''Flaherty, A. Windridge, T. Leonard, B. Taylor, B. Hawken, J. Kervin.
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