Eastern Football Netball League responds to AFL Victoria announcement, training ban upheld
The EFL has responded to AFL Vic’s latest update, amid concerns for the “additional burden” on clubs.
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The EFNL has responded to AFL Victoria’s latest return to training update, keeping its league-wide training ban in place until at least May 31.
On Saturday, AFL Victoria released protocols for a return to training, permitting players to train in groups of 10 from May 25, with two groups of 10 able to use the same oval, “provided they do not operate closely together, and the oval is split into two zones”.
But in a statement released yesterday, the EFNL said it would provide clubs ample time to plan, with its return to training protocol anticipated by Tuesday afternoon.
“Clubs will require time to review, discuss and implement the guidelines and protocols and five days is nowhere near enough time to do that,” the statement said.
The league also expressed concern for its clubs.
“We remain very concerned about the additional burden on clubs amongst an already challenging backdrop, we have no definitive season start date and no clarity on the restrictions that will be in place if/when the season did start.”
The EFNL sent a timeline to clubs late last week mapping out the months from May to July, key dates and the potential roadblocks of a return.
It details that metropolitan leagues and AFL Victoria are set to meet again in early June, following an expected State Government update on or around May 31, with the timeline communicating an EFNL board meeting is set to take place shortly after.
Discussions surrounding financial viability, safety and whether clubs and volunteers can manage COVID-19 restrictions are set to dominate the agenda of that meeting.
The document also acknowledged the possible impact crowd restrictions may have on the viability of the competition returning, stating “with the likelihood of restrictions on food, beverage, crowd numbers, functions and change room access … These restrictions could be considered too onerous on clubs/volunteers and not financially viable for clubs and the League”.
The timeline said the league would review its position after each key announcement and “provide an update on whether the league will move forward to the next timeline date.”
Whitehorse Pioneers (Division 3) coach Brad Taws expressed his initial confusion over AFL Victoria’s latest update.
“We’re still a little bit left in the dark – we don’t even know whether the season is going ahead … there’s so many unknowns,” Taws said.
“(I thought) do we start training next week in two groups of 10, but what about the other 30 blokes? Where do you train the other 20 blokes?
“They’re going to feel unwanted and I’m trying to change the culture of that where we all become one.”
Mooroolbark (Division 1) coach Bret Lavars said his club had decided on a plan last week to task its leaders with managing groups of 10 once training returned.
“As a coaching group we knew the EFL hadn’t endorsed training as of that time so we weren’t going to go and have a training session and breach any protocols,” Lavars said.
“As leaders, (we would) want you to break up the groups, we want a mixture of everyone.
“It’s a really challenging one — I think it’s a matter of finding the balance that works for your group.”
The league also said junior football, senior football and netball would each be treated independently as to whether a return was possible and encouraged players to have a kick in the meantime.
“With the easing of restrictions we do however encourage players to get out of the house, get together with their teammates to have a kick and keep fit and sane, whilst following COVID safe practices,” yesterday’s statement said.
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