The Horsham District Football Netball League held a meeting with clubs around the league on Wednesday night to help form a solution to the shortage of junior players in the region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Before the meeting league chairman Fred Mellington urged parents to help support regional clubs as 'very bleak' player numbers casted doubts over the competition.
A by-law change was passed at the meeting - with the league now allowing a legal junior match of football to be completed with just 20 players in total on the field.
It will then be up to clubs to work together to form fair sides for games each weekend, with both under-17 and under-14 competitions subject to this change.
"Numbers across the board are making hard to have normal games, so we are encouraging everybody who is interested in playing to still be able to have a game in some form or another," he said.
READ MORE:
"Dropping the numbers down so it can be 10 players per side will allow more games to happen more often than not.
"The fixture for the league will remain unchanged, with the only change affecting the number of players needed for a game of football.
"We are not advocating for byes and we will be encouraging clubs to play in whatever way, whether that is an AFL nines-style or however it pans out, we want to encourage every available player to have a game."
Mr Mellington said he hoped this change would help get games of junior football underway, which would help create more interest from potential junior players.
"Every oldest competition in the state is struggling," he said.
OTHER NEWS:
"We are no different and our under-17s have less numbers than our under-14s.
"So these rule changes ensure we are 100 per cent flexible and it is imperative that our clubs communicate with each other on a weekly basis to help ensure the games go ahead.
"Our hope is that when we get the ball rolling, more kids will become interested and our numbers will improve.
"All our clubs are positive and they're looking forward to getting the game going again. The absolute most important thing is that kids are able to play sport.
If you can see this message, you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Stawell Times-News, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and for allowing us to continue telling Stawell's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great town.
