Charles Sturt fall short of minimum player numbers, game not yet finished

The university club travelled with just seven players to Griffith on Sunday for their round one game against Hanwood, but play was abandoned in the first half due to injury reducing Charles Sturt player numbers below the minimum.

The clubs now have 14 days to either finish the game, continuing from the 24^th minute when it was abandoned, or agree to end the game at the current score of 5-0.

If the game is continued, only players listed on the original team sheets can take the field.

Club president Chad McGovern said while a disappointing start to the year, he cannot see the issue arising again.

"Despite having a full squad, this weekend just wasn't right, a few things didn't go our way in terms of availability of players who already had other commitments and a few injuries, so it just didn't work out in our favour," McGovern said.

"We do have a full squad and moving forward we will have a full squad at our games."

With an additional five players indicating they will register this week, McGovern believes the club will end up with more players in their women's side than their men's.

Scheduled for a round two bye, he expects time to recover from niggling injuries and additional preparation time to serve them well ahead of their round three match.

Travelling to Griffith for the opening game added an additional complexity he said, with the four-hour return trip requiring players to have a full day free, not just a handful of hours.

Despite playing four down, McGovern was impressed with what he saw.

"As unfortunate as it is and how everything turned out, the girls did very, very well," he said.

"It looks like they're going to have a really, really good season.

"The Hanwood coach actually commended us and the girls on what an awesome effort they put in."

The game was abandoned following Charles Sturt's keeper removing herself from the field due to injury.

McGovern said they were in full support of her stepping away from the game, emphasising player safety is his priority.

"She hurt herself earlier in the game but wanted to see how she went, then she said she kicked the ball and her leg just went," McGovern said.

"It was a big decision for her to make to not go back on the field but we were all saying don't push it, if you don't feel right to go back on the field, don't.

"At that point, it was like no, we need just leave the game where it is now and focus on her well being."

Despite it all they made it on field, and with two men's lower games also played, Charles Sturt FC is officially a Football Wagga club.

McGovern said he's immensely proud of the efforts the committee has put in to get them to this stage, and cannot wait to see how they grow over the coming season.

At the time of writing clubs had not determined if the game will continue.