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KYNETON senior coach Paul chapman fears the Tigers won't have the numbers to field a reserves team if the Bendigo Football-Netball League season resumes next weekend.

The Tigers will be severely impacted by the lockdown restrictions that prevent their Melbourne-based players from travelling to regional Victoria.

That restriction will continue on what is the BFNL's hoped re-start next Saturday, with the state government having already declared there will be no travel for people from Melbourne to regional Victoria over the coming Queen's Birthday long weekend due to risks of exporting COVID-19.

Kyneton has 17 players - seven of whom are senior regulars - who wouldn't be permitted to play next Saturday, making what is already a daunting trip to Tannery Lane to play Strathfieldsaye all the more tougher.

While the restrictions would severely deplete Kyneton's senior team, Chapman said the flow-on effect would be felt with the unlikelihood of the Tigers being able to field a reserves side.

"There's a lot of questions that still need to be asked by our footy club as to what this means," Chapman said on Saturday.

"We're still in the hunt to play finals footy in the seniors only being one game out of the top five and we'll be stripped of six to seven of our top players next week.

"Then we've got another 10 from our reserves who wouldn't be able to play next week... we won't be able to field a reserves team.

"We obviously want the competition to be able to keep going, but this situation is obviously very tough for our footy club.

"The question is how many players are the Bendigo teams going to be missing from this. Unless you can level it out, then it's an uneven competition."

The Tigers, who are 3-3, are already embracing themselves for an arduous stretch of matches, with their next four opponents Strathfieldsaye (4th), Gisborne (3rd), Sandhurst (1st) and Golden Square (5th).

Also set to be hit hard with a loss of metropolitan players if the season resumes next Saturday will be Gisborne.

The Bulldogs - who are fixtured to play the unbeaten Sandhurst at the QEO - have a list of 12 players that would be ruled out, the majority of whom live in Sunbury, which is classed as Greater Melbourne.

The list includes the likes of former skipper Jarrad Lynch, Jack Reaper, Liam Rodgers, Trent Crosbie and Lachlan Crosbie.

"It's obviously not an ideal situation, particularly when among the 12 players would be eight or nine walk-up senior players," Gisborne coach Rob Waters said.

"Across our seniors and reserves against Eaglehawk last game we had about 16 out in total. I'm not sure how many of those we'd get back yet, so it's obviously a challenge.

"Our twos will struggle a bit, but I think we'd still be able to get a team.

"We've got under-18 kids who go to school in Sunbury, but live in Gisborne, so does that affect us? I'm not sure, so there's a lot that we don't have answers for at the moment."

The travel restrictions have no impact on Kangaroo Flat or Castlemaine - who are scheduled to play each other this Saturday - with neither having a Melbourne-based player.

"We acknowledge the differing restrictions currently applicable to residents of Greater Melbourne exist that may prevent such players competing in BFNL competitions for the foreseeable future, which will have a varying impact on our affiliated clubs,'' BFNL manager Cameron Tomlins said on Friday as the league unveiled its revised fixture following consecutive weekends of no matches due to restrictions.

The North Central Football League last week introduced a new rule whereby a win in any round where Melbourne players aren't permitted to travel and play for their clubs will be worth only two points rather than the traditional four.

* How the BFNL clubs are impacted by the Melbourne travel restrictions:

Castlemaine - 0 players.

Eaglehawk - 4.

Gisborne - 12.

Golden Square - 1.

Kangaroo Flat - 0.

Kyneton - 17.

Maryborough - 4.

Sandhurst - 1.

South Bendigo - 4.

Strathfieldsaye - 3.

* information provided by clubs

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