Season Update 20/7/21

MEDIA RELEASE – Tuesday 20 July 2021 

Following the State Government’s announcement that Victoria will remain in lockdown for a further seven days from 11:59pm tonight, all AFL Outer East fixtures scheduled this weekend have been cancelled.

All club activity which includes training, Auskick centres, events/functions, school programs and all AFL Outer East governed football and netball matches will continue to be suspended during this time.

Our priority on returning remains that it will be safe to do so and guided by the approval of the government, AFL & Netball Victoria.

Additionally, the league continues to remain focussed on delivering as many games as possible of football and netball, when it is safe to do.

Our competitions are at varying stages of their seasons, and regarding this, our approach to each will be different as we aim to finish the season.

Senior football and netball – Premier, Division One & Division Two

AFL Outer East will begin a consultation period with Senior clubs, to identify and develop a return to play plan. This will include surveying all clubs, which will begin tomorrow.

Following today’s announcement we can confirm:

• As per agreed league bylaws, rounds which were scheduled for the weekends of 17-18/7/21 & 24-25/7/21 will not be re-fixtured and have been classed as washouts.
• We are steadfast in our desire to conclude the season and will work with clubs to identify the best way forward.
• The return guidelines and protocols provided by State Government and AFL Victoria will form a key part of our decision making moving forward.

Outer East Junior Football

• Junior football will return as soon as the government restrictions allow.
• The competition will resume with Round 14 for the older age groups and the first week of finals for the younger age groups, with finals commencing the following week for the older age groups.
• The return of these competitions will not be dependent on whether crowds are able to attend or not.
• Our aim is to complete all remaining fixtures, with the season extended to achieve this.
• Grand Final dates will be pushed back in line with resumption date.

Women’s and Veteran’s

• These competitions will resume as soon as the government restrictions allow.
• These competitions will begin with the scheduled semi-finals for each competition.
• No more home & away games will be played.
• The return of these competitions will not be dependent on whether crowds are able to attend or not.
• Our aim is to complete all remaining finals fixtures.
• Grand Final dates will be pushed back in line with resumption date.

Junior Netball and U17/U19 Saturday football

• We will look to return to play in junior netball and U17/U19 Saturday football as soon as restriction allow us to do so.

Further announcements regarding a potential return to play for all senior football and netball clubs will be made once all the information has been made available to the league.

In the meantime, we ask for all members of the community to continue looking out for each other, stay safe and healthy, and abide by the restrictions in place.

ENDS