Tallangatta and District league clubs have vowed to forge ahead for at least the next fortnight amid tightening COVID restrictions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At a league meeting held on Tuesday night, the majority of clubs were in favour of resuming this weekend despite the previous crowd cap of 150-people being replaced by even more stringent restrictions.
AFL Victoria announced earlier this week that only the minimum number of volunteers to run a match were allowed to attend.
Parents and guardians are also permitted to accompany junior players while the match is being played.
The competition has been stalled for the past three weeks and since round seven played on May 15.
The league has decided to resume with round eight matches with a maximum of 16 rounds to be played if there are no more interruptions.
Transferring all matches to NSW based grounds was also discussed with clubs opting against the switch for the time being.
League president Rex Gray said clubs were prepared to take a financial hit for the next two weeks before reassessing the situation.
"All the clubs were positive in a negative situation I guess you could say," Gray said.
"The majority of clubs wanted to resume this weekend and the majority rules.
"Clubs and their communities wanted to get back playing even though financially they will be out of pocket.
"We decided to play the next two rounds and then see what the world is doing to us."
Clubs voted to slash admission prices from $12 to $5 with patrons only allowed at the venue for a limited time.
Wodonga Saints have agreed to switch their home match against Thurgoona from Martin Park to Thurgoona with no crowd restrictions in NSW.
It will be up to individual clubs to decide whether to open up canteen and bar facilities which have to adhere to strict COVID protocols including social distancing.
Use of changerooms are prohibited which leads to the farcical situation of players arriving at the match dressed to play and leaving straight after without showering.
Clubs were also fearful of the consequences of not playing before the clearance deadline which could lead to an exodus of players from the competition and into the neighbouring Hume league.