Northern Football League makes decision on relegation for 2021 season

With critical games lost to last month’s COVID-19 lockdown break, the Northern Football League made a big call on relegation and promotion in 2021.

Nik McNiece in action for Northcote Park.

The Northern Football League and its two most impacted clubs have explained why scrapping relegation was the only fair decision.

The NFL announced last week it would not relegate any team from Division 1 or 2 due to this season’s two COVID-19 lockdown breaks.

The most recent lockdown saw critical games between bottom teams Northcote Park and Whittlesea and Epping and Fitzroy Stars cancelled.

The break further impacting the integrity of the competition after two rounds were also lost in May-June.

NFL chairman Peter McDougall said the lost games greatly impacted the relegation battle.

Djye Thorpe-Morgan in action for Fitzroy Stars. Picture: Josie Hayden

“The decision to remove relegation from the Division 1 and 2 men’s football competition was based on the premise that the rounds lost due to the two COVID lockdowns during the 2021 season had the potential to have too great an impact on which sides stayed up and who would have gone down,” he said.

“This was highlighted by the bottom two teams not playing against each other in Division 1 and Division 2 due to the rounds lost to the lockdowns.”

Importantly, the Division 2 and 3 premiers will still be promoted meaning the top two tiers will be 11-team competitions in 2022.

Two teams will then be relegated next season to return the league to the preferred 10-10-8 structure.

Northcote Park and Fitzroy Stars are the clubs set to benefit most from the decision with the Cougars and Stars otherwise facing the dreaded drop.

Fitzroy Stars is arguably the most affected club in the league having lost a host of key players.

President Simon Minton-Connell said while he was disappointed his club was sitting last, the impact of COVID-19 had made 2021 and incredibly hard season on and off the field.

“With the COVID-19 situation we’ve lost eight or nine players, families moving back to country, and our depth doesn’t run all that deep.

Ricky Fandrich in action for Northcote Park. Picture: Hamish Blair

“To lose our best players it’s put us in a tough predicament.

“Epping and us were in the conversation and not to play each other makes it really difficult depending on what draw you’ve got.

“If we’d beaten by Epping or vice versa you cop it but we didn’t get to play for that relegation day.

“We’ve got to pull our socks up for next year because there’s two that go down, we don’t want to be in that position, there’s a lot of history of us vying for the top spots.”

Northcote Park haven’t won a game this season, cruelled by injuries to key players.

Cougars president Joe Amad admitted his club didn’t have the necessary depth to cover injuries but the decision now allowed them to plan for 2022.

“There’s a bit of self interest but the season was compromised,” he said.

“We didn’t get to play everyone twice, Whittlesea were only one game ahead of us and we’d only played them once.

“The good thing about it is they didn’t penalise the second division sides, that’s a fair outcome.

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“I think we’re the first comp that’s done it, so we’ve shown some good leadership.

“It gives us a bit of certainty so we can build our list, all the boys know they’re going to be in Division 1 next year.”

The NFL finals are due to start this weekend with Division 1 Women’s elimination and qualifying finals.

Finals in the men’s competitions begin August 21-22 with the season wrapping with on September 18 with the Division 1 grand final.