READ MORE - BFNL clubs to dissect AFL Victoria protocols, while more leagues fall by wayside in 2020

READ MORE - How are the MCDFNL teams faring in the Addy Iso-Season?

THE Maryborough-Castlemaine District Football-Netball League has been added to the growing list of competitions cancelled in 2020.

The MCDFNL announced on Friday afternoon its decision to abandon all grades of football and netball this year, becoming the latest league to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The MCDFNL executive has spent considerable time in recent weeks consulting with member clubs and provided a range of options for conducting the various football and netball competitions within the league," the MCDFNL said in a statement.

"However, the position of the overwhelming majority of clubs over the past two weeks has moved to being uncomfortable with trying to undertake the season in the current COVID-19 environment.

"The MCDFNL executive members understand that there are going to be clubs who have worked hard to keep their club actively functioning over the past three months disappointed in this decision to abandon the season.

"Unfortunately, there was insufficient teams available in any age group to be able to proceed with a season."

MCDFNL president Stephen Broad - who has been involved with the league for 45 years - expects all 14 clubs to be back competing in 2021, but acknowledges the challenges for some clubs to get their junior players back after a season off.

"Everyone understands the difficulties because a lot of clubs were struggling to get the juniors up and going, which they are working hard on, so to put it off for 12 months means they've got to get their kids interested again," Broad said.

"That's not an easy task, especially when we've got some clubs in towns that basically have nothing in them and they have to bring in the majority of their juniors.

"By having to import juniors you can understand how it becomes difficult because there's not a continual flow.

"We're not sure that we'll have 14 clubs with all grades next year, but as far as 14 clubs involved, we were well positioned for that this year and I can't see why we wouldn't be again."

While there will be no official competition this year, the league won't stand in the way of clubs looking at options for their juniors.

"If clubs want to organise individual scratch matches or something, that will be fine, but as far as a sanctioned competition, we're not doing that," Broad said.

"We've had a lot of interaction with clubs through this period in working out where they were at, but at the end of the day the general feeling was to go with the decision we've made.

"The clubs rule the league and the majority were against it going ahead."

The MCDFNL is a competition that features five grades of football: seniors; reserves; under-17.5; under-14.5; and under-11.5.

And seven grades of netball: A Grade; B Grade; C Grade; 17-Under; 15-Under; 13-Under; and 11-Under.

SIGN UP FOR BEST ON GROUND, THE AFL NEWSLETTER YOU CAN'T MISS: Straight into your mailbox every Thursday before the first bounce

The league held its final decision off until after AFL Victoria's release of its Return-To-Play Protocols on Thursday morning.

"We waited for them and there were quite a few restrictions that were a bit difficult to achieve and would have been an onerous task for volunteers," Broad said.

"Groups of 10 separated by 1.5m throughout the day and not interacting was always going to be difficult... you almost need to have Police there keeping an eye on things, which isn't conducive to a friendly day at the footy."

Had the MCDFNL season gone ahead as originally scheduled the league would have been up to round 10 on Saturday.

The cancellation of the MCDFNL season adds to a spate of abandoned leagues late this week, including the Goulburn Valley, Ballarat, Ovens & Murray, Essendon District and Murray since Thursday.

Among the handful of leagues still standing though is Bendigo.

With no football being played so far this year, the Addy has been running its Iso-Season for leagues across the region. The results are derived using average scores from match-ups between teams over the past decade. So far the MCDFNL results have been calculated from 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 team encounters.

Navarre 17.11 (113) def Harcourt 10.9 (69)

Lexton 14.9 (93) def Talbot 10.7 (67)

Carisbrook 12.12 (84) def Natte Bealiba 9.8 (62)

Campbells Creek 15.14 (104) def Dunolly 14.12 (96)

Trentham 15.12 (102) def Avoca 14.11 (95)

Newstead 11.9 (75) def Maldon 10.11 (71)

Royal Park 13.11 (89) def Rovers 13.9 (87)

Carisbrook 20.14 (134) def Maldon 7.8 (50)

Newstead 18.13 (121) def Dunolly 6.8 (44)

Rovers 20.15 (135) def Campbells Creek 10.9 (69)

Harcourt 18.13 (121) def Royal Park 10.8 (68)

Natte Bealiba 14.13 (97) def Trentham 8.7 (55)

Navarre 11.10 (76) def Lexton 8.7 (55)

Avoca 13.10 (88) def Talbot 11.10 (76)

Harcourt 23.15 (153) def Campbells Creek 8.6 (54)

Carisbrook 20.11 (131) def Newstead 6.6 (42)

Navarre 17.13 (115) def Avoca 6.4 (40)

Lexton 16.13 (109) def Royal Park 6.9 (45)

Rovers 17.13 (115) def Dunolly 8.10 (58)

Natte Bealiba 16.12 (108) def Talbot 8.8 (56)

Trentham 15.12 (102) def Maldon 14.11 (95)

Lexton 25.15 (165) def Campbells Creek 5.5 (35)

Carisbrook 15.14 (104) def Trentham 6.9 (45)

Harcourt 17.11 (113) def Dunolly 9.8 (62)

Newstead 13.11 (89) def Rovers 9.8 (62)

Navarre 12.9 (81) def Natte Bealiba 8.9 (57)

Avoca 12.10 (82) def Royal Park 11.13 (79)

Talbot 13.11 (89) def Maldon 13.10 (88)

Lexton 23.14 (152) def Dunolly 4.6 (30)

Carisbrook 22.13 (145) def Talbot 7.5 (47)

Natte Bealiba 18.12 (120) def Royal Park 4.7 (31)

Avoca 23.16 (154) def Campbells Creek 11.8 (74)

Navarre 17.14 (116) def Maldon 6.7 (43)

Harcourt 16.16 (112) def Rovers 7.7 (49)

Newstead 13.11 (89) def Trentham 12.8 (80)

Natte Bealiba 29.17 (191) def Campbells Creek 6.7 (43)

Lexton 20.9 (129) def Rovers 8.7 (55)

Avoca 16.12 (108) def Dunolly 9.10 (64)

Maldon 16.9 (105) def Royal Park 12.12 (84)

Harcourt 13.12 (90) def Newstead 11.10 (76)

Carisbrook 11.12 (78) def Navarre 10.9 (69)

Talbot 12.11 (83) def Trentham 12.10 (82)

Maldon 25.13 (163) def Campbells Creek 9.8 (62)

Carisbrook 20.15 (135) def Royal Park 6.6 (42)

Natte Bealiba 18.14 (122) def Dunolly 5.5 (35)

Navarre 14.13 (97) def Trentham 8.7 (55)

Newstead 16.8 (104) def Talbot 11.10 (76)

Avoca 12.13 (85) def Rovers 11.11 (77)

Lexton 12.9 (81) def Harcourt 12.8 (80)

Carisbrook 26.23 (179) def Campbells Creek 5.6 (36)

Natte Bealiba 21.16 (142) def Rovers 7.7 (49)

Harcourt 19.14 (128) def Avoca 10.7 (67)

Navarre 15.12 (102) def Talbot 6.6 (42)

Maldon 19.11 (125) def Dunolly 11.9 (75)

Lexton 12.13 (85) def Newstead 7.8 (50)

Trentham 12.12 (84) def Royal Park 8.7 (55)

Carisbrook 28.14 (182) def Dunolly 6.6 (42)

Trentham 23.15 (153) def Campbells Creek 10.8 (68)

Lexton 16.12 (108) def Avoca 8.7 (55)

Natte Bealiba 14.13 (97) def Harcourt 8.8 (56)

Navarre 15.12 (102) def Newstead 9.9 (63)

Maldon 13.11 (89) def Rovers 12.10 (82)

Royal Park 11.10 (76) def Talbot 10.11 (71)

Carisbrook 22.17 (149) def Rovers 5.5 (35)

Navarre 19.12 (126) def Royal Park 8.6 (54)

Newstead 13.11 (89) def Avoca 8.10 (58)

Natte Bealiba 11.9 (75) def Lexton 7.5 (47)

Harcourt 16.14 (110) def Maldon 12.11 (83)

Trentham 16.13 (109) def Dunolly 12.10 (82)

Talbot 13.14 (92) def Campbells Creek 12.7 (79)

1 - CARISBROOK

Record: 10-0 Pct: 281.1%

2 - NAVARRE

Record: 9-1 Pct: 179.3%

3 - NATTE BEALIBA

Record: 8-2 Pct: 199.4%

4 - LEXTON

Record: 8-2 Pct: 180.3%

5 - HARCOURT

Record: 7-3 Pct: 137.6%

6 - NEWSTEAD

Record: 6-4 Pct: 99.9%

7 - TRENTHAM

Record: 5-5 Pct: 100.2%

8 - AVOCA

Record: 5-5 Pct: 91.2%

.........

9 - MALDON

Record: 4-6 Pct: 98.2%

10 - TALBOT

Record: 3-7 Pct: 72.4%

11 - ROVERS

Record: 2-8 Pct: 73.8%

12 - ROYAL PARK

Record: 2-8 Pct: 59.9%

13 - CAMPBELLS CREEK

Record: 1-9 Pct: 42.1%

14 - DUNOLLY

Record: 0-10 Pct: 47.0%

Maldon v Lexton, Natte Bealiba v Avoca, Carisbrook v Harcourt, Trentham v Rovers, Talbot v Dunolly, Navarre v Campbells Creek, Newstead v Royal Park.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Bendigo Advertiser, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thankyou very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Bendigo's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.