LODDON Valley league netball clubs have resisted the urge to return to training as they await the fate of their 2020 season.
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After meeting this week, the LVFNL board determined no decision regarding this year's season would be made before Tuesday, June 2.
But despite winning clearance from Netball Victoria last week to resume training in groups of 10 - which will be further eased to groups of 20 this Monday - clubs have largely been unmoved.
Marong coach Bianca Garton said her players were unlikely to contemplate training together unless a season went ahead.
"We did a club challenge for a month with all the senior netballers, where we set challenges and each team (A-grade etc.) competed. That was quite good and everyone really got involved," she said.
"But since then we've just been hanging out to see what happens.
"The feeling among the group is we don't want to be training if there is no season, so we are just waiting on the league to make that decision.
"We'll obviously look at what training might look like if they decide on a season, but right now given you can't take part in match-play, it's a bit hard."
As her first season at the helm of the Panthers, Garton had plenty of reasons to look forward to the 2020 season.
A new coach, a bunch of new recruits, on top of a competitive previous season, featuring four wins, more than a few close losses and a seventh-place finish, had generated plenty of excitement among the faithful at Malone Park.
"To be honest, it's been nearly 12 weeks now since we have trained and a lot of the girls have lost motivation," she said.
"As much as everyone wants to play, the longer (the league) leaves it, the less likely it is we will play.
"A shortened pre-season scares me a little bit, if we haven't been training there's the potential for a lot of injuries. It will be pretty scratchy match-play if we turn up in July.
"There are a lot of months of planning that will need to go into what the competition is going to look like next year - (coronavirus) is not just going to go away in the coming months. It's going to be a lot of work for someone."
Garton, who is due to give birth to her second child, believed players had coped as expected during the lockdown, with their willingness to remain together beyond 2020 as the biggest positive to emerge for the Panthers.
Mitiamo coach Glenda Thomas said her club also was awaiting confirmation of a season before committing to training, and reiterated the club and league's earlier stand that there should be no season if crowds were not allowed at games.
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"With all the rules and regulations, which we are fine with, and with no crowds, it's not viable really," she said.
"I think every Loddon Valley club is the same - and Heathcote (District) for that matter - you need the income coming in, so you can pay your way.
"Our girls are coping, I think it comes down to being realistic about things. This coronavirus is just such an unknown. Who would ever have thought this would happen?
"I think from the get-go, the girls just thought this (season) just may not happen. It's disappointment at the start, and now you just deal with it."
Bears Lagoon-Serpentine and Pyramid Hill also confirmed they had not returned to formal training.
From this Monday, community netball clubs will be able to train at outdoor venues in groups of 20, following a further easing restrictions by the state government.
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