JUNIOR and women’s football are still a possibility in 2020, despite all senior football being cancelled.
The RFL commission last Wednesday night decided to cancel the A grade, B grade and under 18 seasons, however it left the door open for some football to be played in the region this year.
“They are both still on the table,” RFL chairman Shane Uren said.
“We have got a junior footy meeting next week with the Riverland Junior Football League (RJFL) committee and we will be looking to get that happening as soon as possible.
“It is vitally important that we don’t leave ourselves with a hole, with a group of players that we lose to the game forever.
“Some of the logistical issues that we had with senior footy are much more easily overcome with junior football.
“Under 9s and 11s for example, they might not even use the changerooms, they can just jump out of mum and dad’s car and be ready to go.
“Also their games are shorter and we have got time to clean changerooms and things like that, so we will be looking to have a junior football competition up and going as soon as we possibly can.
“The under 18 competition had been discussed at length in the lead up to the decision, and as they come under the RFL banner, that is why their season was called off with the other senior games, but we have already put in place to possibly include a higher age bracket in the RJFL for 2020.
“This is being discussed at the meeting on the 17th.”
Mr Uren said the RFL was keen to continue building the momentum gathered by women’s football in the Riverland over the past two years.
“We are very mindful of the women that love our great game and they want to keep playing,” he said.
“Again we would hate to lose them because they are so new to it and we have also got the opportunity of exposing the game to more people with netball not being played in the region.
“It could be vehicle for those girls to maintain some fitness and go into the 2021 netball season with a better fitness and new experiences.
“We will be looking to get women’s footy going, but we have got to go back to the clubs with that.”