Country footy’s threat to netball

Netball Victoria has sounded the alarm over the consequences that could flow from cancelled seasons in the state’s two largest suburban Australian rules football leagues.

Netball leagues are under threat as their affiliated country football leagues are cancelled. Picture: Josie Hayden

Netball Victoria has sounded the alarm over the consequences that could flow from cancelled seasons in the state’s two largest suburban Australian rules football leagues.

The Eastern Football Netball League cancelled its senior football and netball seasons on Wednesday, while the Northern Football League confirmed it would persist with netball in the absence of football.

“I really, really hope that this doesn’t have a flow-on effect on future seasons,” said a disappointed Netball Victoria chief executive Rosie King. “Each league has to make a decision for their community rather than following the leader.”

Combined football-netball leagues have been the dominant competition model throughout Victoria’s country towns and regional cities for decades. That has been a largely fruitful partnership, but now risks sinking many netball seasons that could have survived on their own.

The prospect of playing without crowds has wrecked the economic model of many senior football leagues that normally rely on gate takings and concession sales to pay for players, grounds and umpires.

But King has encouraged local netball associations to persevere despite the challenges, insisting the costs of running netball leagues are drastically lower than football, and should still be viable without crowds.

She said it would be sad if decisions made about male football leagues precluded the state’s major women’s sport from proceeding safely.

The acute fear for netball coaches is that a cancelled season sees teen athletes walking away from the sport.

“We’ve got a cohort of young women who are very susceptible to dropping out of sport altogether. For example, the 10 to 14 age group is 35 per cent of our total members, but the 15 to 19 age group is only 17 per cent,” King explained.

“What we’re really fearful of is that once that cohort gets out of a routine, by not having a season, there’s a higher risk of them not coming back to sport.”

Coronavirus rules further complicate attempts to keep netball going.