Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Ovens and Murray was about to enter its most eagerly anticipated season in close to a decade.
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With at least seven teams a genuine finals chance, tipping a premiership winner was next to an impossible task in the strongest sign yet that the salary cap and player points system is having its desired effect.
The measures were implemented to put the brakes on player payments, which were spiraling out of control, and putting immense pressure on clubs and one of their most valuable assets - volunteers.
Yarrawonga president Ross Mulquiney raised the idea of no players being paid for at least a few years in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. That came after AFL North East Border regional general manager John O'Donohue suggested leagues slash their salary caps by 50 per cent.
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The Ovens and Murray has a salary cap of $160,000, followed by Tallangatta and District ($80,000), Ovens and King ($70,000) and Upper Murray ($50,000). The Hume league has a $90,000 cap.
The Border Mail conducted a poll of 15 players earlier this week and all said they would play for free if it assisted their club and helped football return this season.
Last week, The Border Mail had a feature story with Father Peter MacLeod-Miller where the thrust of his message was, that amidst the doom and gloom of this crisis, there had been some silver linings.
That may seem a little strange, when you consider there have, tragically, been deaths, illness and job losses associated with this disease but Fr Peter wasn't making light of that fact, he was simply making the point that "we have returned to village life".
And so it could be with footy, that we return to a simpler time, where there's less pressure on clubs and volunteers to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for players.
Lavington's Andrew Mackinlay made the point on Twitter that his father - Holbrook legend Robbie - played all of his 369 matches for free, as did thousands of his contemporaries in the 1980s and 90s.
After what could be months of living in lockdown, playing some games of football for free would be just a small price to pay.