EAST Warrnambool's two-year recess has sparked a $10,000 rise in the Warrnambool and District league salary cap.
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District league clubs in 2020 must squeeze player payments under $90,000 with two extra games per season.
AFL Western District operations coordinator Mat Milne said East Warrnambool's recess meant the league's 10 clubs would play each other twice.
Last season, each club played 16 games with two byes apiece.
East Warrnambool was the second south-west club to enter a recess in the past three years. Deakin University entered a recess in 2017 and has not yet returned to the field.
Milne said the cap increase was designed to support clubs returning to an 18-game season.
"Because a lot of players have multi-year deals and have already been approached or recruited, we've given clubs the ability to go over that $80,000 mark as a transition measure," Milne said.
"That salary increase will return back to $80,000 for the 2021 season."
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Milne said clubs had responded well to the move.
"It's one of those things - we'd rather be safe than sorry," he said.
"We want to be flexible and working with the clubs - this isn't something that is going to negatively affect clubs."
The Warrnambool and District league fixture has not yet been released.
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Nick Ansell
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
