Sadly COVID-19 restrictions have brought country sport to a standstill for a second consecutive year as not a single Western Border football and netball match will be played this weekend. However, after a weekend off the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara football and netball competitions will be brought back to life regardless of the Victorian border situation this weekend.
Both leagues paused their respective seasons recently due to the ongoing Victorian lockdown which prevents the likes of Casterton Sandford and Border Districts from entering the field. The KNTFL and KNTNA were the first to react, postponing all round 7 matches last weekend, while the WBFL and WBNA have stopped play ahead of this Saturday’s round 9.
As a result of Monday night’s announcement, the remainder of the 2021 Western Border season has been shaken up slightly with the grand final at Malseed Park now shifted back seven days to Saturday, September 11. Other changes include last weekend’s postponed fixture between the Cats and East Gambier to be a standalone game on Saturday, July 10.
The venue for the round 14 battle between Casterton Sandford and West Gambier has been changed to Island Park to ensure the Victorian venue will be ready for the first semi-final as Malseed Park gets a game in the rescheduled final round. WBFL president Michael Summers said the postponement was made to ensure the season remained fair for the trapped Cats.
“We were mostly concerned with the lack of training Casterton Sandford would have and just wanted to be on the front foot in case the lockdown continued,” he said. “We want to look after Casterton on and off the field as much as we can because we want them in the league and we can’t expect them to play a game having just 24 hours notice.”
The decision means players will enjoy a break seven days earlier than anticipated with the season having a bye for Interleague in the second weekend of June which remains on the calendar. Last weekend the two South Australian games – North v South and Millicent v West – were played, while Casterton Sandford and East Gambier stayed home.
Summers said the decision to press on with last weekend’s South Australian games was made with the belief the Victorian lockdown would briefly be in place, but the situation has changed now. “We thought as a board that would be the right decision having just the one game miss out,” he said. “We were expecting Victoria just to have a seven-day lockdown, but obviously the numbers on Monday were quite high, so we made the call, but do not expect it to drag things too much further.”
If the situation across the border continues to escalate, Summers ensured plans are in place for every situation with some even envisaged before the opening round. He said all clubs, board and netball association had worked together hand in hand so far and hopes play can recommence as soon as possible on Saturday, June 19. “We know interleague is the week after (the break), so we will address that and come back fresh hopefully on June 19 when things have settled down,” Summers said.
“The board has been excellent and transparent, they have made it a lot easier for a president like me to have confidence in making decisions like this and the netball association has also been fantastic listening to each other’s recommendations. “It has been a fantastic season so far with great games and crowds and hopefully this is just a little speed hump and we can get back to normal soon.”
But there is much brighter news up the Riddoch Highway with the KNTFL and KNTNA ready to resume after last weekend’s round 7 did not take place following the announcement of the Victorian lockdown because many teams were affected. KNTFL president Peter McLellan said the board made the swift decision to pause play last weekend to ensure every player and club remained on the same page.
“It was basically one out, all out to help all the clubs with Victorian representatives especially Border Districts,” he said. “We will see how long the situation will go for and give the Victorian representatives the best chance to return. “Our finals fight is so close, so we wanted to keep the integrity of the competition.”
But despite the Victorian lockdown still imposed at the time of print, action will return to football fields and netball courts all over the region with the board eager to keep the season’s strong momentum going. “Lets play again,” McLellan said. If the Victorian lockdown continues, the Border Districts game against Naracoorte will be postponed the league plans to catch up the round 7 set of matches at the end of the year to ensure clubs get the same amount of home games.
Time is on the KNTFL’s side with the competition not taking part in next weekend’s Interleague and an early grand final of Saturday, September 4.
