COUNTRY football and netball clubs would rather sit a season out than put themselves under the financial pressure which would come from playing without crowds.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A National Cabinet announcement on Friday is expected to provide guidelines for grassroots sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
But many south-west clubs are opposed to playing shortened 2020 seasons without spectators, if that's the advice handed down, citing the financial strain.
The Standard spoke to Hampden and Warrnambool and District league presidents about the possibility of games at empty grounds.
The consensus was without a revenue stream, through gate takings and canteen and bar sales, it was a fruitless exercise.
Clubs were also wary of playing with restricted crowd numbers or social distancing restrictions, saying it would be difficult to manage.
Leaders were also cautious of excluding the community, which is at the essence of grassroots football and netball.
Listen to episode seven of our podcast, The Main Break:
Koroit president Steve Hoy said clubs and leagues must be thorough when assessing the guidelines, warning "the devil will be in the detail".
"You've just got to ask yourself - do you want to play if you can't have your community around, your sponsors, supporters, your junior players?," he said.
"The knock-on effect for that is, and what clubs will have to consider, of course is if you don't have revenue through your gates, canteen, raffles and bar sales and everything else that comes with it, then is it viable?"
Hoy, whose Saints are striving for an unprecedented seventh consecutive senior football premiership and fourth open netball flag in succession, said a crowd quota would also throw up obstacles.
"If you have restrictive crowds and you're the home team then whose responsibility is it to police that," he said.
"And who wants to be the volunteer standing at the gate who tells a long-time member or sponsor 'sorry, you can't come in'.
"You risk alienating your supporters and your sponsors."
Panmure president Maree Condon echoed Hoy's thoughts, saying she wouldn't want to be the person deciding who was and wasn't allowed to attend a match.
The Bulldogs' leader believes if crowds were allowed, enforcing social distancing measures would be hard.
Hamilton Kangaroos president John Pepper is another worried about a season without fans.
"Financial is the obvious reason of course but we have got to remember that footy clubs are here for and because of community sponsorship and support - no community, no club," he said.
"We exist because of the community and for the community and they for us and therefore if there are no crowds we are not supporting communities that support you and sponsor you."
New South Rovers president Dennis Bushell said Saturdays at the games were a sanctuary for many people.
"There's not many places you can go and feel part of a community anymore," he said. "It's great to catch up with people."
The presidents agree clubs would struggle to survive if they hosted matches without crowds, even in a shortened season.
"I think we need crowds for it to be viable," Bushell said.
"It would really place our finances under severe strain if we played football and netball without or with limited crowds."
Condon said a lack of revenue coming in would make it hard to make payments.
"If that goes ahead you're going to have to pay umpires and all that sort of stuff," she said.
"It's just not going to be viable, I don't think. We depend on Thursday night teas, our gate, our canteen and after the game up stairs."
Warrnambool president Simon Perry conceded it was "almost impossible to run an actual season without crowds".
"We welcome some form of a season with crowds and if it was a possibility to have that before the end of the year, a modified version of a season, we'd certainly welcome that but without crowds I don't think it would be possible," he said.
"Just to be operational, you do need some income streams coming through and if it means people can't get out of their cars and go and buy a pie, I just don't see how it's possible that you can get some income coming into your club.
"What's the attraction for sponsors if there's no people at the games?"
Camperdown president Kevin Russell and his Russells Creek counterpart Michael Jongebloed believe it would be better to scrap the season altogether and protect clubs' finances than run at a loss.
"I say just wait and push the reset button until next year," Russell said.
"(If we're) not going to be able to start till June, can't see the point of starting."
Jongebloed said clubs were in limbo and wanted clarity. At this stage football is on hiatus until May 31 after a decision to postpone seasons came into effect before round one.
"I think any decision will be coming out on Monday and until then, we're only guessing the government's decision," he said.
"I don't have a crystal ball so we're in limbo a bit at the moment. It's certainly not practical to play without crowds from a Russells Creek perspective. I can't speak for any other club but we couldn't survive with restrictions on crowds.
"We rely on people coming back to the clubrooms to have a few beers after the game and we rely on our people. I don't think we could survive playing without crowds.
"We'll have to wait and see (what the government says). If that's maybe postponing the season or cancelling this year, that's part of life."
Hoy and Perry will turn their attention to junior competitions if a decision is made to cancel senior competitions. Both believe it's imperative to get children and teenagers playing again, for both mental health and fitness.
"Even if that was on a restricted level, it doesn't draw the crowds and it's easier to get happening," Hoy said.
Perry said the club was bigger than its senior teams.
"The juniors on Sundays are just as important," he said. "The young people in our community really need to get back playing sport and being active."
Clubs are also bracing for the coronavirus break to have long-term impacts.
"The challenges for club will be potentially over the next two or three years. We're still assessing, as would all clubs, the impact on your sponsors," Hoy said.
"If they have been heavily impacted you totally understand they're not able to support you."
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.
