Tallangatta and district league delay decision on commencement of finals series

The league voted last Monday night against playing this weekend, opting to delay the start of the finals series for at least a week.

The vote was unanimous.

Most clubs have NSW-based players in senior grades of football and netball who would be ineligible to play if finals commenced on Saturday due to the state lockdown.

However, NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro hinted earlier this week that there is a "real chance" of regional areas enduring at least a 14-day lockdown.

The Hume league is on record as saying that it is prepared to push its finals series back into October if it meant a grand final could be staged.

League operations Gavin Rendell revealed that club presidents had voted against delaying the season that long when they last met earlier this month.

"With Thurgoona obviously based in NSW and heavily involved in finals it makes it virtually impossible to play finals at the minute," Rendell said.

"Tallangatta is also heavily impacted while most other clubs also have a handful of NSW based players.

"The other issue is giving clubs sufficient time to prepare for a finals series and not making rushed decisions.

"So the logical decision was to postpone the start of finals which was voted in favour of 8-0.

"Hopefully by Monday night we will have more information of when the lockdown is likely to end in regional NSW.

"There have been a lot of different ideas discussed and we are keeping an open mind and haven't ruled out anything at this stage."

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Chiltern coach Luke Brookes who is preparing the Swans to play Kiewa-Sandy Creek in the qualifying final said the league made the right decision to delay the start of the finals.

"The league is in a tough position but all I know is that most of the players and coaches involved in finals want a result and a grand final to be staged," Brookes said.

"It's not an option of going two years without a premier."

Kiewa-Sandy Creek coach Adam Mudra echoed Brookes' thoughts.

"I don't think anyone at our football was surprised by the league's decision on Monday night," Mudra said.

"The league still has time on its side considering this weekend was only going to be the opening week of the finals series.

"As a playing group, the players were excited about the prospect of finals and would have loved to have been playing this weekend."

Mudra was mindful that players' motivation levels could wane quickly if the season was delayed much longer.

The league last played on July 10.

"It's such a balancing act and how long can you keep players on the hook for?," he said.

"I certainly think you can only keep players engaged and motivated for a limited period of time without playing before there comes a tipping point."

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