WHILE the cancellation of the 2020 Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Football League season comes as a disappointment to many – albeit expected – it has taken a weight off the shoulders of club presidents, coaches and players, who have been provided with a long-awaited answer.
It is no different for Penola Football Club president Marcus Devereux and his committee, who can now turn their focus to the juniors and preparation for the 2021 season.
Devereux said the result of last Wednesday’s league meeting was a foreseen outcome, but it does not make it any less surreal now the final call has been made.
“I think everyone saw it coming, but now it has actually happened I think there is some new-found shock,” he said.
“Saturdays and weekends are not going to be the same in any of the small communities.
“Our club is like a little haunted building at the moment, nothing going on there.”
According to Devereux the Penola community has taken the news fairly well and he is glad all involved finally have an answer to the question on everybody’s lips for the last three months.
“The fact everyone knows now and we have that answer everyone’s been wanting – whether it is the right one or the wrong one – we can actually move forward and start planning 2021,” he said.
While there is not much happening over at the Eagles’ nest currently, Devereux said the first priority will now be the junior players, who still appear likely to play in a shortened format.
At the senior level there has been plenty of talk of a possible “super league” competition between all three Limestone Coast football leagues, following the cancellation of the Western Border competition on Monday night.
The fate of those speculations will hinge on the verdict of the Mid South East Football League after its meeting tonight, while the viability of such a competition will also need to be addressed further.
However, Devereux said if the competition was done in the proper way, it would be something Penola would definitely consider.
“If something was to happen and it was informal and just one senior side in a practice match type scenario just to get people playing footy, I would not be surprised if we try to have a crack at doing it,” he said.
“Whether it is just for four weekends or something like that, just to get people going.”
However, he said that decision would depend on the concept of the competition and how it would meet the protocols still in place.
With the junior Eagles the main focus, Penola will also turn to the social aspect of the game, which is hoped will return soon as restrictions continue to ease.
“We are probably turning more towards just social events to try and get a bit of money back into the club ready for next year,” Devereux said.
“Then we will start recruiting and all the behind the scenes stuff that we do usually the from October to December.
“We can start doing that now because we know we are not playing this year and we know what we are up against.”
In addition to that, it can be expected to see the Eagles hit the training track earlier this year, with an extended pre-season likely to start mid-November.
A big issue country football clubs across the nation may face over the coming months is the loss of players, whether it be to other sports or pastimes they have discovered during the prolonged off-season 2020 has become.
However, that is a problem Devereux hopes to minimise, with the goal to keep people “thinking of footy”.
“It is still nine months technically until we actually play, which is very weird,” he said.
“But that is what it is and we just have to work with it and keep people thinking of footy, even though we are not going to be playing.
“We do not want to lose players from the game and the netball is probably in the same category.”
