WANGARATTA president Tony Goodison says his club is prepared to take a financial hit this year for the mental well-being of its players.
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Goodison feels clubs have an obligation to get back up and running for the mental health of their players, supporters and the wider community in general despite the financial implications.
"Obviously you have to weigh up all the factors but I think the mental health aspect of playing or not playing is a significant factor," Goodison said.
"Clubs are faced with a financial loss this season regardless of whether we play or not.
"Even though if the season goes ahead it will be of greater financial burden, the benefits outweigh the cost.
"For the players to go through an arduous pre-season and then not play for 18 months is a big ask.
"You have to think of what football means to the communities and the supporters associated with clubs.
"Our view as a club is that it is worth proceeding and hopefully we are able to.
"We feel it is worth taking a financial hit to a certain extent for the bigger picture."
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If competitions like the Ovens and Murray do resume, the number of spectators allowed into matches will most likely determine whether most clubs are prepared to play a shortened season.
State governments are yet to rule if crowds will be allowed to attend matches if and when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
The general consensus amongst clubs is that senior football would not be possible without crowds with player payments their biggest expense.
"While there is nothing official there is talk of allowing crowds of no more than 500 to help with social distancing measures," he said.
"Our estimation is the club would run at about an extra $10,000 loss if the season went ahead and we played nine rounds and there was a crowd limit of 500.
"We have budgeted for a $13,000 loss based on four home games.
"With the likelihood of reduced O&M and umpire fees and possibly another home game this could be reduced further.
"It would be unviable to play in front of a crowd of less than 500."
"The only way that we could move forward and play this year and set ourselves up for next year is if all players play for nothing, umpires do likewise, and we play the games with as little costs as possible," Stefani said.
