The Horsham and District Football Netball League have announced how they intend to to finish the 2021 season.
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The League held a meeting with clubs on Friday night, before the league held a further meeting for itself where it made its decision.
In a press release issued on Monday morning the league declared that it has a strong focus on junior players returning to sport when protocols allow and it is committed to completing the 2021 finals series within a timeframe.
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Sunday October 3 will be the league's conclusion date and if Victoria is still in lockdown on Tuesday September 21, with no end date announced, the HDFNL senior season will be cancelled.
If finals can go ahead within those dates, the league will release a structure and finals fixture once the State Government has given direction on a return to community sport in the Wimmera.
HDFNL league chairman Fred Mellington said announcing the end date was "key".
"We'll work back from that," he said.
"Nothing's unanimous of course in these days, but the feeling at the meeting was that we don't go any further than Sunday the third of October so that we're not interfering with summer sport."
One club which would love for the finals series to go ahead is Noradjuha-Quantong. The Bombers finished the HDFNL season first in both senior and reserves football and second and third in the top-two netball grades.
Noradjuha-Quantong president Andrew Rose believed the league's announcement was "logical".
"It gives us all a sense of certainty in these uncertain times," Rose said.
"We're hopeful that we'll get some recognition for what's been a pretty strong year. It'd be a shame if it fizzled to no finals, but it is what it is."
Rose also pointed to the league's focus on the juniors as something of high value.
"The focus on juniors is really important," he said.
"I think all of the clubs are pretty united in making sure that if we can achieve anything out of this season, that we focus hard on getting a result for the juniors.
"The poor kids they went to bed on Friday night thinking they were getting up to play a final the next morning and when they woke up they were told 'sorry kids it's off'."
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