COVID-19 crowd restrictions drive call to abandon Wimmera Football League and Wimmera Netball Association seasons

The boards and all nine Wimmera league clubs decided on Monday night that a competitive season wasn't viable and the focus would instead shift towards offering junior footballers and netballers an opportunity to play.

The WFL and WNA's move follows last week's announcement that the Horsham District Football Netball League would cancel its senior competition, citing uncertainty around the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Among the concerns of the WFL and WNA boards and clubs were the financial implications of a compromised season and the inability for supporters to attend games.

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AFL Wimmera Mallee area manager Jason Muldoon said the state government's tightening of restrictions at the weekend influenced the decision.

"With the government announcement, clubs just couldn't get a clear view of when crowds would be allowed back. That announcement pushed things back, and that was the sticking point the whole time," he said.

"Once it became apparent that crowds weren't going to happen the decision become fairly easy and it was a unanimous decision by clubs in the end."

A spike in COVID-19 cases saw the state government walk back on the easing of restrictions, including limiting outdoor gatherings to 10 people for recreational purposes, down from 20.

There was a fear playing without crowds would impact the viability of clubs without traditional revenue streams like open bars and canteens, or social functions.

Mr Muldoon said there was some "optimism" when clubs met last week to discuss a return to play with the hope of crowd restrictions potentially easing.

"The difference between this meeting and last Wednesday's meeting was there was some optimism coming from last week's meeting," he said.

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"There were some clubs that said they couldn't be involved, and that was accepted and for the clubs that did want to play there was a genuine chance.

"There was some uniqueness about trying to play out a season under the circumstances."

The WFL and WNA boards expressed their desire for the ongoing sustainability of the competitions and its clubs when announcing the cancellation of the senior seasons.

Mr Muldoon said the break in competition offered club administrators an opportunity to do the "odd little jobs around the house" without the pressure of a regular season.

"The negative side is that we aren't playing football and netball, but it may allow some club administrators to catch their breath and refocus and hopefully come back in 2021 a with a renewed vigour," he said.

"We are monitoring every club and are in contact with every club on a regular basis. We're hopeful that all clubs will pull through this, but we're not naive to think that out of this, some of them won't be under some serious stress."