Region battling junior player shortage across multiple leagues

Wodonga Saints this week announced the decision to withdraw their under-14 and under-17 teams from the Tallangatta and District Football League competition due to a crippling player shortage.

But the Saints aren't the only club feeling the strain, with several others in the TDFL and Hume League also battling to fill junior sides.

"The minute we announced we were withdrawing I had clubs calling to take on the remainder of our players, which shows how short we are across the district," Saints' president Adrian Barry said.

"My aim was always for juniors to play football, regardless of where they play, because it's good for the sport.

"It's going to be difficult for a lot of clubs to continue with their juniors over the coming years."

Dederang-Mt Beauty president Richie Kreuzer admitted they're also struggling to fill their under-14's side, with the season starting this weekend.

"We're going to run with it this week and we're in negotiations with Wodonga Saints to see if we can get their kids to play with us," Kreuzer said.

"Our first game is with Yackandandah, so we're negotiating to see if they have extras to come on side to play for us to try and bridge the gap.

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"Just as long as kids get to play some form of sport."

It's not just Aussie rules teams feeling the pinch, with the Albury-Wodonga Football Association also experiencing lower than average junior numbers.

AWFA president Mark Leman believes the shortage stems back to COVID.

"I think parents may be concerned about border closures and don't want to invest the money in case it closes again," Leman said.

"The other issue would be that kids have found new things to do, and families may have started using Sundays as family time and want to keep that going."

The association has also raised their junior sides to under-15 and under-17 to cater for the lost year.

"We're trying to become more open to change and be more inclusive to allow people to still be involved after missing out last year," Leman said.

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