The Riverina and Farrer competitions are set to become the jewel in the country football crown after a number of neighbouring leagues were cancelled over the past 48 hours.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
AFL Riverina's competitions will be the only taste of senior country football for miles after the Ovens and Murray, Hume, Tallangatta and Murray Leagues all officially pulled the pin on seasons this week.
AFL Southern NSW regional manager Marc Geppert said the decisions of the border-based competitions had not impacted the plan to push ahead with the 2020 season in this region.
"If you look at it from a NSW-ACT perspective, we're not out of the ordinary," Geppert said.
"We have competitions and other codes forging ahead across the state and that's a reflection on how we're coping with the COVID pandemic in NSW.
"For Riverina and Farrer to be going ahead at this stage is a massive bonus for our code and if we can attract those better players, there may be a few issues yet that we need to work through around border restrictions and things like that but it's a good thing for our code."
Geppert believes clubs will now need to take a balanced approach when it comes to bringing in recruits.
"Generally, in any other circumstance when you attract high quality footballers from outside the region it's a really positive thing. Obviously we just need to be mindful that there is a healthy balance there," he said.
"We know that this is, hopefully, a short term issue that we all face so clubs will just need to find the balance between attracting those quality footballers but also looking after the ones they've already got."
AFL Riverina chairman Michael Irons hopes it gives the opportunity for more exposure to both leagues.
"It's disappointing to hear that those other leagues have had to cancel but obviously changes in Victoria in the past week have made it challenging for them to get a season up," Irons said.
"For the Riverina and Farrer Leagues, it presents an opportunity to attract some extra spectators, probably around finals time, it's a good opportunity for people to get out and see our competitions in action."
READ MORE