The Myrtleford co-coach had his season ended by an ACL injury in June which required knee reconstruction surgery, while numerous lockdowns have robbed the Saints of their Melbourne-based players for much of the Ovens and Murray season.

Sharp admitted the ongoing uncertainty was taking a toll but described how the moment his partner Emma gave birth to little Wila changed their lives for the better.

"It was unbelievable," Sharp said. "I was speechless.

"I started sobbing when she came out, I couldn't control my emotions.

"I didn't think you could love as much as you can when you have your own child.

"It was a moment I'll never forget and one I would love to experience again at some point.

"Watching her grow and become more alert with us, but also our family, has been really cool.

"I love getting out and going for a walk with her in the pram and just interacting with her, seeing her smile, those little things brighten up your day and make you forget about a lot of things that are going on.

"Wila's brought a lot of perspective into my life and through these darker times, I've had something happy and joyful to come home to.

"I'm extremely grateful for that, to have a happy and healthy little one that probably doesn't know too much about what's going on at the moment.

"Nearly four weeks after we had her, my third major knee op was coming up and I was gutted, absolutely devastated.

"But she made me realise there are more important things in life and you've got to keep charging on.

"Through that, she's been someone I've been able to look to for inspiration and it's helped me understand that life's not all doom and gloom."

Nevertheless, the last few months have tested Sharp and his compatriots across the competition like never before.

The Ovens and Murray finals were due to commence this weekend, with Myrtleford taking on Wodonga Raiders in the eliminator, only for those hopes to be dashed by the announcement of yet another Victorian lockdown late on Friday.

"Having gone through it seven times now, you pre-empt it a little bit when you hear the case numbers," Sharp said.

"I think every club and every player across both NSW and Victoria would be extremely frustrated in the sense that we've got so close to getting a season completed and for that to be in jeopardy is a disappointing feeling.

"The thing is, you never know. You can't plan too far into the future because, as we've seen, things can change quite rapidly.

"That unknown takes a lot of energy, physically and mentally, to prepare for things when you're not sure what's just around the corner.

"I think that's been the biggest thing for us as a team and a playing group; you gear up and you get going again and just as you feel like you're starting to find your feet, it gets taken away from you, as it has done a couple of times this season.

"Our group's been really resilient all year. We had a fantastic training session on Thursday night, leading into the weekend practice match and then on Friday night it all took a turn for the worst.

"But that goes to show our boys are still engaged and still following what we're putting in front of them."

Myrtleford, significantly undermanned at various points throughout the home-and-away season, finished fourth on the ladder with an 8-5 record.

"The first time we had to play Albury without our Melbourne players, it was a really tough week for the club," Sharp admitted.

"Our Melbourne contingent are predominantly local boys, brothers or sisters of players at our club and they've grown up in the area, so it was disappointing to kick off games with fit players down there who would have loved to be pulling on the jumper.

"That's been difficult, knowing how much they'd want to be a part of it.

"But you've got to focus on what you've got available and the local boys have been amazing at standing up during some of those periods. We've seen some great growth out of some of those players due to being exposed to that level.

"Brody Ricardi's really taken another stride forward since the middle of the season. Ryley Forrest has only played two games but he's shown a lot of positives signs for the future.

"Some players from our thirds premiership in 2019 - Declan Bren, Josh Muraca and Austin Wickes - those boys have really shown they can stand up in big moments, when you've got some of that quality out of your team."

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Sharp paid tribute to co-coach Dawson Simpson for his role this season as the pair have sought to provide leadership and reassurance for the playing group at times when they, too, have been left with more questions than answers.

"We've got a fantastic relationship and we bounce things off each other if we're feeling a bit down," Sharp said.

"One of us tends to take the lead of the other one isn't quite feeling it.

"Around both of us, we've got really strong leadership through our board and our footy department - and our players know Dawson and I on a friendship basis.

"We don't have to hide our emotions, the players understand that we're just like them, we're human."

So how much appetite remains at McNamara Reserve to get the season finished?

"Early in your lockdown and when case numbers are high, I honestly don't think there's a strong appetite there at all," Sharp admitted.

"But once things start to fire up again, the appetite's more than established.

"As a footy club, we've got dads, young boys on casual work who may not be working, full-time staff working from home so it's making sure you're understanding of everyone's situation.

"From there, it's about putting fitness programs in front of them to keep them ticking over so that if that time does come, the appetite is met with the readiness of the body to compete."

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