League bosses and the Bendigo Umpires Association met with AFL Central Victoria on Monday night where it was decided to delay the start of the season because of conronavirus concerns.

"The decision was collectively agreed upon to delay the scheduled start date for all competitions until the first weekend in May,'' AFLCV regional general manager Carol Cathcart said in a statement.

"This decision was made due to concerns for the coronavirus and the need to protect the health and safety of players, coaches, volunteers, supporters and the broader community.

"Fixtures will be amended to complete the season resulting in later grand finals. Leagues will continue to explore fixturing alternatives however acknowledge the situation is fluid and any decision may change.

"In the interim, the commission and league chairs are advising clubs to cease all activities in relation to football and netball, including training and practice matches from today, Tuesday March 17 until April 1, 2020. This will be subject to further direction by the Government and AFL.

"We, like many organisations are doing our best to make decisions which are in the best interests of all concerned."

Round one for the HDFNL and LVFNL was scheduled for April 4, the BFNL was scheduled to start on Good Friday, April 10, while the North Central was set to start on April 18.

The Bendigo Advertiser understands inter-league football/netball and general byes will be scrapped, so that as many rounds of football and netball can be played.

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