Premier club tells players it is ‘confident’ VAFA season will start
A top Victorian amateur football club has sent a message to players saying it is confident the season will start within weeks of training resuming early next month and it will be “rapidly preparing” for the first games.
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A powerhouse VAFA club has told its players it is confident the season will be starting in mid-July or early in August.
Collegians today sent out a message to its squad about a return to training.
“The club is confident of a season start date in July or early August (most likely Saturday, 18 July, 25 July or 1 August),’’ it said.
“We will be rapidly preparing for the potential resumption of games accordingly, using the short six-week window we have between now and then.’’
The Lions will resume training on Tuesday, June 2, with the men hitting the track on Tuesday and Thursday nights and the women on Tuesdays nights and Saturday mornings.
“In keeping with the directive from the Victorian Government, AFL Victoria and the VAFA, until further notice we will be training in groups of 10, maintaining 1.5m ‘social distance’ without exception, and using only balls and cones for training,’’ the message said.
“There are a number of hygiene and reporting requirements that the club and all players must abide by at all times. A failure to adhere to these requirements could result in a shut down of all training and a stop to the resumption of games.’’
The Collegians statement came two days after the official of another Premier club said in an email to members “it is hoped that the season may be able to get underway on July 4 or at the latest on July 11’’.
“This will enable a nine-game season with three weeks of finals to be completed by the end of September.’’
Collegians were among the clubs to gain high-profile recruits ahead of the season, locking in former St Kilda midfielder David Armitage and ex-Hawthorn defender David Mirra.
Even if community football doesn’t get underway until the first Saturday of August, it will have scope to use nine Saturdays through August and September: August 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, and September 5, 12, 19 and 26.
And Cricket Victoria is expected to give AFL Victoria the all-clear to use at least the first two Saturdays of October for finals.
VAFA CEO Brett Connell has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, the Heathcote District Football Netball League has pulled the plug on its season amid the coronavirus crisis.
The country competition is the first community footy league in Victoria to cancel the 2020 campaign, with the decision coming just days after players were given the all clear to resume organised training under AFL Victoria protocols.
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