By Nick Creely
AFL Outer East has set its much anticipated preferred return to play date for its competitions, with the league aiming for a return to the field on Saturday 25 July.
With a potential season getting underway a massive priority for the AFL Outer East, the league will be offering modified participation and club fee structures in 2020, to enable willing clubs and players to participate in the season, however each competition will be reviewed separately based on their requirements as guided by the State Government.
The league has also confirmed that if a season is unable to commence – with the latest start date set for early August – then a new social football/netball competition format will be developed for the coming months.
In the Guiding Principles For A Return To Football And Netball document sent to clubs on Friday morning, the AFL Outer East has stated that participation this season is voluntary, and clubs will not be penalised if they opt to sit out the season due to Covid-19.
There will be a club meeting on 23 June to review the progress and for a final decision to be made, with another meeting on 6 July set to further explore the model this season.
With Outer East setting the date of 25 July to start, the league hopes to conclude on Saturday 17 October and Sunday 18 October with the senior football grand finals.
The senior football structure will see a top four format set to be introduced, as well as even home and away games, and local derbies/rivalries utilised for return fixtures. The finals series will be played over three weeks with neutral venues removed.
The league has also confirmed that there will be no promotion or relegation in 2020, while the salary caps are as follows: Premier division – $15,000, Division 1 – $12,500 and Division 2 – $10,000.
In terms of player transfers, they will close on 30 June, with Outer East strongly advising clubs against transferring players into the competition from cancelled neighbouring leagues.
However, there are a number of requirements for senior football, which will be guided by the State Government, with a crowd of 500 needed to get the season up and running, as well as food sales, bar, revenue and fixturing all major components of community sport.
If restrictions of 100 or under remain in place, senior football will be cancelled in 2020, and if crowd restrictions are capped at 500, under 18s and women’s football will be played on Friday or Saturday nights to ensure crowd numbers remain steady.
In regards to the netball season, a crowd of 100 is preferred but if restrictions aren’t lifted, measures will be in place for both scenarios, while food sales and fixturing are also to be taken into consideration.
Netball will be able to commence independently from football, with a training block of two weeks required for a start. Should a winter season not commence, AFL Outer East will look to offer a summer netball competition.
Women’s and Veterans football will also require crowds of 100 to go ahead, with both seasons able to commence up until mid-August. In terms of finals, either a two-week option or grand final only option will be put in place.
Junior football, a major priority for the league, can commence any time until the end of August, with six to eight games preferred, but round robins can be utilised if required. Junior grand finals can be held as late as 27 September.
With a target set and still plenty of work to do in order to get the season up and running, region general manager Aaron Bailey told the Gazette that providing clarity was vital as the league continues to push towards a return in 2020 while also remaining mindful of the health and safety of everyone at community level.
“We want to provide a really clear framework for clubs, and I think in the last few weeks there’s been a lot of positive movements,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard with clubs, and we needed to know what they required to get back – this allows us now over the next three weeks to hopefully get those key pieces of information we need and make an assessment about whether this is workable.
“We’re mindful of the fact that we’ve set 25 July – we’ve got a lot of time here, and we now have to make an informed decision, but this gives our clubs the ability to train, take a deep breath, and as a collective we’ll make those decisions on 23 June.”
With senior football’s return requiring different elements to get back up and running as opposed to junior football and netball, Bailey said that while there is a set return date, all competitions will be assessed independently.
“We want to bring everyone back on 25 July,” he said.
“What is really clear is that the measures to bring back traditional senior football are different to netball, women’s footy, veterans and under 18 footy, and what we’re saying is by 23 June, or 6 July, if we don’t feel its (senior football) able to come back in its traditional form, we’ll look to still bring back other competitions because there is more flexibility in dates on those.
“We still require the State Government return to play date, but what we’re saying is that we will return on 25 July – if the return to play date was earlier, we will still return on 25 July.”
With crowd numbers the decisive factor in the return of senior football this season, Bailey said that there should be more clarity in the next few weeks.
“Without that 500 number, and even with the salary cap essentially at zero, the cost of running senior footy is going to be difficult without that, so it’s the key one we need,” he said.
“If we can get 500, that’s the key driver, but the canteen, the bar and things like that are important, but we’ll hopefully know more in the next three weeks.”
Bailey also reiterated that junior sport is also an absolutely essential part of the future of all the competitions governed by AFL Outer East with the league confident that kids can be running out there this season and playing football and netball.
“Junior sport is front of mind in what we’re trying to do – I think bringing junior footy is really crucial to what we do, getting participation is important,” he said.
“One of the things that has opened up is that juniors will be able to play dates that are usually reserved for senior sport, and we hope we can play junior footy in really good weather.
“And with the extension of cricket, it gives us time to get junior sport – it’s important for the longevity of all of our competitions going forward.”
On the issues of transfers, with rumours swirling of clubs circling stars from recently cancelled competitions surrounding Outer East, Bailey remained firm that the preference was not “mass transfers” with more major competitions set to make decisions on their own 2020 seasons in the coming weeks.
“Our preference is that transfers are limited, and we’d rather players remain with their home clubs – we understand that there are players that will look for opportunity to play, particularly younger age groups,” he said.
“But we will look at transfers on a case-by-case basis – we do not want mass transfers in.”
While AFL Outer East continues to work hard to get a traditional season in some capacity going, the league is exploring the possibility of an alternative competition for senior football should it be cancelled that will be an opt in, opt out scenario.
The league is proposing an Open Men’s Football competition, where clubs can enter a side for an eight to ten week season through August and September. Competitions will be graded, and rule changes will allow for minimal volunteer workload and shortened match lengths. If numbers for the competitions are strong, Outer East will introduce a conference system, and teams that win their conference will progress to knockout structure until the grand final.
The Outer East is exploring these options with the view of still getting a traditional netball, under 18, veterans and women’s football season going.
Bailey said that it was all part of Outer East’s strong desire to see plenty of community sport in 2020.
“We’re not putting a line through the season in any capacity, but we’re mindful that what we do may be different to what we traditionally do,” Bailey said.
“Our clubs have been terrific, everyone’s committed to working towards the 23rd, and after that if we move to those other models, we’ll work towards that.”
