WITH no football for the meantime - as well as a host of other local sports in coronavirus shutdown - there's a massive void being felt among the sporting community.
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Players are missing the thrill of the contest and supporters the enjoyment they get from barracking for their club.
All are missing the camaraderie.
So with 2020 football currently on hiatus, the Addy is going to have a crack at manufacturing seasons across the region for the Bendigo, Heathcote District, Loddon Valley, North Central and Maryborough-Castlemaine District leagues.
We're calling it the Addy Iso-Season.
And we'll have a go at putting together an AFL season too given it's also on hold.
Here's what we'll do.
We are going to use historical data from match-ups between clubs during the 2010s decade to create weekly results and seasons for as long as needed for all our local leagues.
In the first half of the season we'll use 2010-14 data to manufacture the scores.
For example, among our games in round one of the BFNL this weekend is Strathfieldsdaye v Sandhurst.
So we'll use the average score Strathfieldsaye and Sandhurst kicked against each other during the 2010-14 period to create the result. And then when they meet the second time in round 10 we will use their averages from their 2015-19 meetings.
We'll do this across all the leagues and base our weekly draws off what was originally fixtured by the competitions.
We've also added two extra rounds for the North Central and Maryborough-Castlemaine District leagues so they will become 18-round competitions, the same as Bendigo, Heathcote District and Loddon Valley.
In the case of the North Central league it means each club will play four teams three times, but we've taken that into account where we'll use a combination of 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 results for the third meeting, while we've also factored in Sea Lake Nandaly only having been in the competition for four years.
Finals results will be based on previous finals match-ups through the 2010s period.
As for the AFL, we've created a 17-round home and away season where results will be based off the average scores of all-time historical meetings between clubs.
While there are no games on it means our weekly Saturday Scoreboard section on the Addy website is out of action and the Monday paper is void of any weekend results, ladders and match reports.
So we'll use the Addy Iso-Season for the timebeing to give those craving competition a fix of results on a Saturday night online and in the paper on a Monday.
Yes, the results aren't real, but they are derived from games that have been played in the past, while our thinking is, until there is a start, some form of competition is better than no competition at all for our readers.
ROUND ONE GAMES:
BENDIGO
Kyneton v Gisborne
South Bendigo v Eaglehawk
Strathfieldsaye v Sandhurst
Castlemaine v Maryborough
Kangaroo Flat v Golden Square
HEATHCOTE DISTRICT
Elmore v Heathcote
Colbinabbin v North Bendigo
Huntly v LBU
Leitchville-Gunbower v White Hills
Mount Pleasant bye
LODDON VALLEY
Pyramid Hill v Inglewood
Mitiamo v Newbridge
BL-Serpentine v Calivil United
Maiden Gully YCW v Marong
Bridgewater bye
NORTH CENTRAL
Charlton v Wycheproof-Narraport
St Arnaud v Birchip-Watchem
Donald v Wedderburn
Boort v Sea Lake Nandaly
MARYBOROUGH-CASTLEMAINE
Maldon v Newstead
Rovers v Royal Park
Natte Bealiba v Carisbrook
Avoca v Trentham
Lexton v Talbot
Harcourt v Navarre
Dunolly v Campbells Creek
AFL
Brisbane v Gold Coast
North Melbourne v Adelaide
Port Adelaide v Geelong
Sydney v Hawthorn
St. Kilda v Carlton
Fremantle v Melbourne
West Coast v Richmond
Collingwood v GWS Giants
Essendon v Western Bulldogs
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