KYNETON Junior Football Club officials have hit out at 'selfish' and 'malicious' vandals, who destroyed newly installed goalposts at the club's oval late last week.
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The damage occurred overnight Friday and forced some modifications to last weekend's round of BJFL matches.
Police have been notified of the incident.
The new goalposts were the result of a joint collaboration between the Tigers senior and junior clubs and were made possible by generous community support.
KJFC director of junior football Ron Rutledge branded the vandalism as 'selfish and senseless'.
"We have an over-subscription of kids wanting to play football and to have that happen just makes no sense to anyone," he said.
"We ended up playing at the top oval, but we had to jiggle things around a bit.
"It's so stupid in the realms of what is going on in the world at the moment. It's senseless."
Rutledge said those most upset by the vandalism were the players.
"It's an on-cost to the community that no one needs at the moment," he said.
"We are all trying to do our best with the difficult circumstances, to have that happen is just madness.
"Anyway, we move on. Fortunately we have a lot of benefactors in the community, who have come to our aid, and they will rectify it quickly.
"We have a great community here and people always come to the fore and make things happen when they need.
"To those selfish vandals, we don't salute you."
Despite the disappointment and initial shock caused by the vandalism, Rutledge said the Tigers' juniors' enthusiasm had certainly not been deterred by the coronavirus pandemic-induced break.
"We're going well - we've got very good systems and very good people involved," he said.
"Every team has COVID officers, so we are more than on the ball with what we are doing.
"As long as kids have a smile on their faces and play sport safely, we are most happy to participate."
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