CRIPPLING border restrictions could prove a bridge too far for the Sunraysia Football Netball League this season.
The SFNL’s hopes of reviving its season may have been dealt a fatal blow with NSW border residents now subject to a strict 5km limit when entering Victoria.
All of NSW has now been designated an extreme risk zone under Victoria’s travel permit system – a new level with even stronger restrictions than a red zone.
No one travelling from extreme risk zones can enter Victoria unless they have an exemption, exception, transit permit or specified worker permit.
SFNL president Paul Matheson said unless those border restrictions were eased it would be “impossible” for the competition to resume.
“We are screwed in both directions, basically,” he said.
The SFNL has one club, Wentworth, based in NSW, but also has a number of players at Victoria-based clubs who live on the NSW side of the river.
The SFNL earlier this season relocated all its matches to NSW for one round due to crowd limits in Victoria, and had been planning to do the same until the Victorian Government’s decision to tighten border rules on Friday night.
“It’s stuffed it all up and I’ve got google maps out and a 5km limit is something you can’t fix at all,” he said.
“They are still allowed to play community sport in NSW, which makes sense because Gol Gol or Wentworth would have to be over 500km from the nearest (coronavirus) case, so we were looking at relocating our competition as a workable option, but now that is off the table.”
Matheson said the league would not give up hope on the season and hoped Victorian-based clubs could return to training this week.
“I would be hoping they review the 5km like they did with the border bubble (that extended beyond Ouyen),” he said.
“We are dealing with bureaucrats and there doesn’t seem to be any common sense.
“Let’s get some perspective here. We’ve had the one virus case come back from Melbourne for the first time in 18 months and the Mildura community responded brilliantly with testing and the like.
“So we have shown we are willing to do the right thing and should be able to snap straight back now to where we were at. But the government are pretty staunch that the rules will be the same for all of Victoria and that worries me.”
Victoria on Monday recorded 11 new cases, but all were linked and in isolation for their entire infectious period.
“I don’t think we can keep operating like this, personally,” Matheson said.
“It’s like the government want to make it too hard for everyone, but we are pretty resilient in the regions and we won’t give up on the season yet.
“If it means looking at doing something different with our finals, or having five or six teams in the finals, we will talk to our clubs and look at all the options.
“We need crowds to make it affordable, but it’s not just about playing sport, this year has shown it is an avenue for people to get out and about on weekends, it is a family day out, and we can’t lose that.
“Sadly the people making these decisions have no idea what community sport is about.”
Matheson said not returning to play this season would also have a crippling impact on the finances of clubs and the league.
“As a league, we do get a small amount of sponsorship, but the majority of our income is from the finals series,” he said.
“We didn’t have a finals series last year and may not have one again this year. So as a successful, independent league with a healthy bank balance, it does change quickly.
“If we don’t keep pushing it and talking about it, they (the Victorian Government) will continue treating us this way and it is not sustainable.”
