MPNFL club president fears it could take years to get over coronavirus crisis
The president of reigning MPNFL Division 1 champions Dromana says the 2020 season should be canned as the coronavirus crisis hits hard.
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As much as it is looking forward to unfurling its 2019 flag, MPNFL champions Dromana is happy to wait until next year.
The Tigers soared to their greatest moment last September, beating Sorrento to claim their first MPNFL Division 1 premiership.
But the coronavirus crisis has had a heavy financial impact on them, zapping vital sponsorship dollars and making a 2020 season unviable.
Dromana president Mark Crawshaw said his club, and probably many others, would be better off resetting for 2021 and “planning for the long term’’.
“I think footy clubs, like a lot of small businesses, are going to take two or three years to get over this,” Crawshaw said yesterday.
“It’s going to be a struggle because at the end of the day small businesses are the majority of our sponsors.”
Crawshaw voiced his club’s concerns at an MPNFL presidents’ meeting last week as the pros and cons of a shortened 2020 season were discussed.
“I made it clear in the presidents’ meeting the other night that I think we reset for 2021, that’s my personal opinion,’’ he said.
Crawshaw said the coronavirus crisis hit just as Dromana was starting to collect sponsorship money.
“Then it all just stopped,” he said.
“The businesses we rely on were impacted by it.’’
Crawshaw said some of Dromana’s volunteers were “nervous” about helping out in the current environment.
“We’ve got a good volunteer base — most are (aged) between 60 and 75,” he said.
“We’ve got the odd young one but the majority are in the high risk age group.
“So I think a few of them are nervous.
“At the end of the day we’ve got a responsibility to our volunteers and our players, our members and we have a responsibility to the league.’’
It’s understood most MPNFL clubs are keen to play, although a handful want to scrap the season, citing financial stress, waning player interest and undue expectations on volunteers.
A decision will be made following the government’s next update on restrictions on June 21.
AFL South East is in the process of conducting a financial analysis of each club to determine if a season would be viable.
“I think whatever we do we have to be fairly united in going forward,” Crawshaw said.
Pines coach Paddy Swayn is hopeful of a season going ahead.
“I’d be rapt if we got to play, it would be awesome,’’ he said.
“If we go ahead and play there’s no pressure on individual players. They’ve got to do what’s best for them, financially and mentally.
“No one is going to judge you.’’
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