THE four Farrer League clubs left standing in 2020 will wait for the AFL Riverina's directive on whether they will press on with a season before making a call themselves as concerns grow playing a makeshift league may not be worth the risk.
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Recent confirmed coronavirus cases in New South Wales, the closure of the NSW-Victoria border and a directive advising against travelling to and from Border towns has put the start of football and netball this weekend in major jeopardy.
Charles Sturt University officially pulled the pin on Monday, a day after East Wagga-Kooringal joined Farrer League rivals Barellan, Coleambally and The Rock-Yerong Creek in sitting out 2020 after the league was officially cancelled last week.
AFL Riverina will investigate whether a combined competition featuring Farrer and Riverina league clubs is viable and has enough support at a board meeting on Monday night.
Northern Jets president Simon Gaynor said they will await AFL Riverina's stance before they discuss what they decide to do as a club.
"Once they put their proposal forward, we'll meet as a committee and then decide whether we want to be part of it or not," Gaynor said.
"It's just a process we have to run through, the safety of our club is of the utmost importance and as things deteriorate it's getting worse and worse.
"Us clubs always support AFL Riverina, and we want them to support us and make the tough calls. We always love footy and netball but we've got to take the right approach for what the community wants.
"Once they say they're playing we have to go to the committee to see what they want to do, then the players as well, and once we tick those boxes the club can make that decision.
"We'll be based on who gets more than 50 per cent yes or no (at a committee vote), if that's successful we'll go to the players.
"If the majority want to play then we'll say yes, we're in, if they say no then we'll be out."
Temora Kangaroos president Peter Gerard said they will also await AFL Riverina's directive, but said there's plenty of factors to weigh up before deciding whether it's worthwhile playing.
"I don't think it will be up to us to make the decision, it will be up to the league to work out whether they're going to go ahead with the comp, or pull it," Gerard said.
"As it is at the moment our season's over, but if everyone's happy to go ahead and play, we have to go ahead and consider whether it's worth doing."
North Wagga is expected to hold a club meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
CSU cited a lack of player numbers caused by the cancellation of on-campus classes, the closure of the NSW-Victoria border and the recommendation people don't travel to and from Border communities as the major reasons for their withdrawal in a social media post on Monday morning.
"When you factor in potential injuries and unavailable players some weeks that inadvertently occur, it meant that we did not have confidence of maintaining sufficient playing numbers for the season," CSU president Cameron Humphries wrote.
"With less players, it also meant we have less volunteers to help run game days and ensure safety protocols were maintained throughout the day.
"As a club we were also mindful of the concerns for the health and well-being of our local communities, including our players and volunteers and those from opposition clubs.
"After consideration of all these factors we have decided the best option, and to also ensure the long-term survival of our club, was to withdraw from the Farrer FNL or any other merged competition.
Riverina League outfits Griffth and Narrandera will also sit out this season.
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