AFL Southern NSW regional manager Marc Geppert could not be happier with the success of the AFL Riverina Championship at the halfway mark of the home and away season.
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Three weeks into the shortened six-week season and the one-off Championship competition has been well-received by both players and supporters.
The arrival of outside players into the competition has driven the standard higher, while clubs have welcomed strong crowds as people look to get to the football.
"We're obviously stoked from a code perspective to have both of our junior competitions, and a combined senior competition going ahead," Geppert said.
"As we know with this pandemic, it's a day-by-day proposition and that's how we've approached it. Each game that gets ticked off every weekend is another great result for the community."
Geppert praised the six participating clubs for the work they have done around health and safety protocols to get games off the ground.
"We're really happy with the participating clubs and the effort that they've shown around the protocols and making it a safe environment for the community," he said.
"We're really happy with how clubs have approached it and just because we're at the halfway point doesn't mean we can take the foot off. It probably has to go a little bit further.
"Obviously we still rely heavily on the individual to do the right thing when they go to the footy but now that we're past the halfway point and approaching finals, clubs still need to remain vigilant around the protocols. When the weather potentially gets a little bit better and we're looking at finals games, we need to make sure that we're still doing the right thing because I think people will want to get out and watch some footy."
While there has never been a guarantee on how far into a season AFL Riverina would get, Geppert believes no matter what direction the season takes from this point, it has been rewarding.
"Definitely. Every game that we play on a weekend has been worthwhile," he said.
"And we said that from the start that if we can provide any games for not only the participants but the communities. Some of these towns that at the moment don't have any sport going, so to be able to provide an outlet for those people within those communities, if we're doing that once I think it's a great result, and if we're doing it six, eight, 10 times throughout this season then that's a fantastic thing from a code perspective.
"As we've said from the start, the minute the health advice changes that's when we'll change our approach but one game of footy has been a great thing from my perspective."
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