Old Collegians, Portland withdraw under 18, senior women's teams from Western Victoria Female Football League

Fielding a team of 12 in its opening game against Terang Mortlake, coach Xavier Couch said he was left with eight players ahead of round two. The club, as well as Portland in the seniors, then decided to put its team into recession.

"We had a few players pull out, with injuries, one had COVID-19 and another was going away for a few weeks," Couch said. "So it took our numbers down to eight and we decided that was not sustainable. We hadn't managed to recruit any players, and it left us with nowhere to go. We had tried everything to make it work and unfortunately had to make that call."

Couch said it was not an "easy decision to make" and telling his team at Tuesday's training was just as hard.

"I don't think it came as a surprise to the girls, they knew we were in trouble," he said. "But everyone involved was really disappointed and a few were upset."

Couch said while some would go on to play at Warrnambool or South Warrnambool, there was a group who only wanted to play at Old Collegians.

"That is the sad part about it, they are missing out on playing sport," he said.

Couch said he could see several factors influencing playing numbers, with travel one of the biggest issues.

"It's something I think needs to be addressed," he said. "I'd like to see a sit down at the end of the year to let clubs put out their concerns and issues and see what we can do to fix this. We're down to five teams now and in 2019 there was 11 so there is clearly an issue."

Round two draws remain in place for both competitions, with the league to publish revised draws next week.

Couch thanked his playing group, Richard Verspey, John Sanderson, Jason Moloney, and Old Collegians' committee for their hard work over the last three years.