Leagues in crisis talks
It’s a ‘‘wait and see’’ policy for most football and netball clubs in the region in regards to the futures of their seasons.
The Goulburn Valley League could make a decision on its season as early as today or tomorrow but Kyabram, Murray and Picola and District leagues will not make a decision on the remainder of their seasons until an update on COVID-19 restrictions are announced this weekend.
GVL operations officer Jo Spencer said yesterday the league board and club presidents met on Monday night via Zoom and several options had been discussed.
Clubs were split on whether the plug should be pulled now on the season immediately.
It was also raised at the meeting that the finals could be extended into October to accommodate a finals series if COVID-19 restrictions were eased. But Ms Spencer said this was not an option as it would encroach on the cricket season.
There was also a suggestion of a compacted finals series if possible.
But leagues are resigned to the fact that there will be no play possible this weekend and the rest of their seasons are in serious jeopardy.
■ KDL presidents and league officials meet via Zoom on Monday night also and have put several options to clubs to discuss this week and express their opinions on.
■ Murray League general manager Dale Norman said on Monday his league was also in limbo until more is known about the COVID19 lockdown this weekend.
‘‘We have to see what’s happening with the COVID restrictions before we can do anything,” he said.
‘‘If we got the go-ahead, I believe we would go into the finals series straight away but until we get word on what is happening we just have to wait.
■ The Picola and District League is meeting this wek to discuss its season’s future.
Like the Murray League, it has clubs straddling the Murray River and under current COVID-19 conditions can’t stage any finals in either Victoria or NSW.
‘‘We were also looking at maybe having Victoria teams play a finals series but that also can’t happen under the current conditions,’’ league general manger Shane Railton said yesterday.
But he said if the season is cancelled, league awards including the Pearce Medal for the league’s best and fairest player would be recognised.
‘‘We would be one of the few leagues where every side has played each other once so awards will stand no matter what happens from now,’’ said Railton.