THE Penola Football Club has officially decided it will not enter a team into the Limestone Coast combined football competition, which will match up the region’s three football leagues in an altered season for 2020.
The Eagles had already turned down entry into the competition in its initial stages, but with last week’s announcement the league would definitely go ahead, the club was given an opportunity to rethink its decision.
“It came to fruition last week that it was definitely going to go ahead, so like every other club we were asked if we wanted change our mind and participate in it,” Penola Football Club president Marcus Devereux said.
“We had a senior players meeting last Thursday and had a vote, but we had majority which said no.
“We were going to struggle to fill one team, let alone the two senior teams they want for the league, so we have just put a line through it.”
That means the strange idea of no senior football played at Penola in 2020 has become a reality, with the Eagles benched until next season.
However, players will not be forced to hang up their boots for another nine months, as McCorquindale Park will be open to social training sessions on a weekly basis.
“We are going to start training this Thursday and then every Thursday from now on, just as a non-compulsory thing to keep people fit and keen on footy as a social thing,” Devereux said.
In addition to the opportunity to mingle on the training track, Devereux also hopes to reopen the club for social events in the near future.
“We are opening up Thursday nights as we normally would and are going to hopefully start doing meals in the next couple of weeks just to get a few people through the door,” he said.
That will help bring in some money for the club in preparation for the 2021 season, but more importantly will give members a much-needed chance to socialise after months of inactivity at the club.
