"Anything is possible".
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Bendigo Football Netball League manager Cameron Tomlins said the league was looking at all options as it weighed up the validity of staging the 2020 season.
AFL Victoria has reportedly told the state government it would like to see community leagues back playing from as early as July 11.
Tomlins said a decision on the future of the 2020 BFNL season hinges on crucial state government, AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria advice on COVID-19 restrictions.
"There's three or four key things that all need to happen to a certain extent,'' Tomlins said on Tuesday.
"It's not just being able to have a crowd of 500 people for example. We need to know about cleaning protocols, guidelines on AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria requirements and the ability of club volunteers to administer those, the impact on canteens, bars, functions and fundraisers.
"We've always thought there was no need to rush because we could get started in July, and even the back end of July, if we needed to.
"We're really clear that we need guidance from the state government, AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria and a road map to follow and we'll see where we come out at the end.
"As much as we want to play this year it won't be at the detriment of the clubs or the league for 2021.
"There'll be a tipping point where we can't invest everything into what we've got this year and put the sustainability of clubs at risk."
The BFNL board and club presidents have a scheduled meeting on Wednesday night where it's unlikely any concrete decisions will be made on the future of the season.
The easing of restrictions around full contact training will be critical for the league and clubs as they look at potential starting dates for the season.
A July 18 starting date would allow the league to fixture nine home and away rounds and a traditional four-week finals series with an October 10 grand final.
Last month AFL Victoria and Cricket Victoria reached an agreement where football leagues could use grounds up until October 17 this year.
"We haven't delved too deep into fixturing,'' Tomlins said.
"When this broke we agreed in principle to leave the fixture as is and work on a nine-round season starting round 10 and ground bookings and everything remain the same.
"Obviously, some clubs would be impacted by that more than others with home games and travel requirements.
"We were due for a general bye on July 4, so we could push round 11 back into that date and start the week earlier without altering the season at all.
"Until we get this road map we can't hang our hat on dates. There's three or four moving pieces. Everything has to play out the right way."
With motivation to play potentially draining from playing groups, Tomlins said there was a possibility that the 2020 BFNL football season could run without reserve grade action.
"At this point in time anything is possible,'' Tomlins said.
"We understand that the longer this goes the harder it's going to be for some clubs with playing numbers.
"It's not something we've delved into too deep, but the board has been flexible through this process and we've said nothing is off the table.
"Once we get the guidance that we're after we'll see what the impact is for the league and we'll make the best decision for our clubs."
While the AFL has shortened quarters for matches in 2020, Tomlins said, at this stage, the BFNL wouldn't follow suit if the season gets underway.
"We've briefly touched on it, but we're not at a point of making a decision,'' Tomlins said.
"It's been raised as a discussion point with clubs. The clubs wanted to go back to their coaches and fitness staff to get an idea of how the players would be impacted.
"There's some traditionalists who say we shouldn't change it unless we really need to.
"Once we get clarification (about the season) we can come back to that decision. It might be a case of us not having to make any changes."
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