Country football in regional Victoria looks set to remain in limbo for at least another week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Tallangatta and District league decided late on Wednesday afternoon that it would halt its season for a third successive week.
The decision comes despite the Victorian government announcing on Wednesday the further easing of restrictions.
Crowd caps remain the biggest stumbling block to Victorian-based leagues resuming.
The Ovens and King league announced on Wednesday night it would postpone matches for another week, but the Upper Murray may restart with crowd caps for Victorian venues.
The government announced a venue limit of 150 with no more than 50 indoors including clubrooms.
The ruling means clubs are faced with the untenable situation of players being forced to leave once their matches are completed to adhere to venue limits.
Most clubs are of the opinion that a minimum crowd of 500 is required to be viable and cover costs.
It remains unclear whether players are included in the crowd cap.
AFLNEB's regional manager Zac Guilfoyle said it was up to the individual leagues to decide when its competitions would resume.
"AFL Victoria is currently seeking clarification whether the crowd cap includes participants or not," Guilfoyle said.
"Hopefully we get that guidance from the state government in the next 24 hours.
"We want to encourage leagues and clubs to play within the restrictions that are provided.
"But ultimately the decisions are left with the individual leagues and our job is to keep them abreast of the situation and the restrictions at hand.
"Ultimately we want participation back as soon as we can."
The Ovens and Murray will press ahead this weekend with all matches in NSW venues including a historic double header at Lavington Sportsground.
However, this appears to be only a temporary solution.
At least one Victorian based O&M president said it was not viable for clubs to play in NSW in the short-term future as a temporary solution to avoiding crowd caps.
It is also feared that the latest setback could spark a player exodus from the Victorian district competitions to NSW based competitions before the June 30 deadline.
