Richmond won’t take field in 2020, leaving Old Scholars competition with just five clubs

A club that has played off in the past five Old Scholars grand finals will not join a reduced season this year due to the impact of coronavirus.

Richmond celebrates its 2017 premiership at North Hobart Oval. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

THE Old Scholars Football Association will be forced to forge ahead with five teams in 2020 after Richmond withdrew from the competition.

One of the league’s powerhouses in recent years — having played in the past five grand finals and winning premierships in 2015 and ’17 — the Blues were unwilling to proceed with a shortened season due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 restrictions.

Club president John Conway informed league management on Thursday, telling the Mercury the possibility of no crowds would have created too big a financial strain.

“Until we know what restrictions are going to be going forward it is really hard to plan anything,” Conway said.

Richmond Football Club president John Conway said the “unknown” of any 2020 season was the reason behind his decision to not participate in the OSFA.

“I did all our costings, and it was going to cost us quite a bit of money and I couldn’t see where we were going to get it back.

“We are not broke as a club, we are financially sound but it is just the unknown of it all.

“We rely on bar sales, we are a community club that people support us at home games and we are not going to have that.

“The other thing is we have got about 22, 23 volunteers who help out with different tasks throughout the year and 18 of those are over 60.”

Conway said any players who remain keen to play for either opposition Old Scholars sides or in other leagues which get underway will be granted a clearance for the remainder of the year.

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OSFA president Mark Heathcote said while it was disappointing to see the Blues enter hibernation for a year, he was fully supportive of the decision.

Heathcote will meet with the remaining five clubs tomorrow night to plot a reduced fixture.

“It’s certainly been a tough year for all sport, certainly unusual,” Heathcote said.

“The remaining five clubs are still committed to having some sort of season, obviously it is going to be a shortened season now because of the late start.

“But we are still looking forward and hopefully we will be able to get up subject to the government giving us approval to do so.

“Richmond Football Club are a valued member of the Old Scholars and we look forward to seeing them back next year.”