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THE Heathcote District Football-Netball League has become the AFL Central Victoria region's first competition to officially call off its 2021 season.
The HDFNL made the call on Thursday following the government announcement the previous day that the easing of regional Victorian restrictions - with the exception of Shepparton - from Friday that allow for community sport training only and no competition will be in place until the end of September.
The HDFNL had bought itself an extra week of hope that it could make a last-gasp return to action for a grand final day on September 18 after it had been expected the league would have pulled the pin on the 2021 season at a meeting a week earlier.
With its decision now made to put a line through the remainder of 2021, the HDFNL is the first of the region's football-netball dominoes to fall, just like it was in May last year when it was the first league to call off its 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The HDFNL board in consultation with all clubs has formally decided to cancel the finals series for season 2021," the HDFNL said in a statement.
"With the announcement of some restrictions easing from midnight on Thursday, September 9, and at this stage with no date or timeline to return to community sport and the possibility of COVID impacting the health of players and communities, the HDFNL board has made this difficult decision."
The HDFNL finals series was unable to get a start and five of the league's 18 home and away rounds had to be abandoned during Victorian lockdowns.
Like all winter competitions, the HDFNL season has been on a knife-edge since the first weekend of abandoned games was the beginning of the derailment on May 29 after seven rounds.
HDFNL chairman Peter Cole said while there was a sense of inevitability in the decision being made, it was shattering to have to make, but also came with a sense of relief that the league can now provide weary players, volunteers and fans who are tired of the constant uncertainty with closure on 2021.
"One part of me is shattered because so much work has gone into this year for what is in the end no result on the football field or netball court, but there's another part of me that is relieved," Cole said.
"We wouldn't want to have been known as a super spreader event where someone had come to one of our finals and infected someone (with COVID).
"But I'm genuinely disappointed that we can't finish off the season; I feel terrible for all the clubs and participants.
I'm genuinely disappointed that we can't finish off the season; I feel terrible for all the clubs and participants
- Peter Cole - HDFNL chairman
"We've given it our best shot, but unfortunately, it's out of our control.
"The coaches have been fantastic the whole way through this.
"One particular senior coach (Colbinabbin's Julian Bull) would have been decimated in terms of player availability, but he was still 100 per cent determined to play just to get some closure on the season.
"And our netballers have been the same; they wanted to get some finality, but unfortunately, it's not to be."
Prior to Thursday's finality of the season being called off, the HDFNL had left the door ajar for a grand final day on September 18 at Huntly featuring the top two teams in each grade playing off.
But with there to be no grand finals played, the league will recognise the teams that finished in top spot as "minor premiers":
FOOTBALL:
Seniors - LBU.
Reserves - White Hills.
Under-18s - Huntly.
NETBALL:
A grade - Elmore.
A reserve - Mount Pleasant.
B grade - North Bendigo.
B reserve - Elmore.
17-under - Elmore.
15-under - Elmore.
Both the senior football and A Grade minor premiers, LBU and Elmore, were undefeated.
Cole said despite the interrupted home and away season he maintained optimism the league would get some form of completion to its season on the field and court until the August 21 lockdown that had just two hours notice was enforced on regional Victoria.
"We had all our plans in place, we had ordered what we needed to for the finals and if I wasn't confident then we wouldn't have done that," Cole said.
"But this last lockdown has just shut it all down and made it really hard on everyone.
"This has been a really difficult year and as a board we'd like to thank all our clubs, volunteers, players and extended communities for their support and understanding throughout.
"Together we will continue to grow the HDFNL and look forward to seeing all our players and supporters back for a bigger and better season in 2022."
The league still intends to hold its best and fairest vote counts and award presentations for the season at a date still to be confirmed pending the further easing of regional Victorian restrictions.
ROUND BY ROUND SENIOR FOOTBALL RESULTS:
ROUND 1:
White Hills 28.18 (186) def L'ville-Gunbower 5.10 (40)
Colbinabbin 17.14 (116) def Elmore 8.5 (53)
LBU 13.18 (96) def Heathcote 7.7 (49)
North Bendigo 11.10 (76) def Huntly 5.12 (42)
Mount Pleasant bye
ROUND 2:
LBU 19.9 (123) def Colbinabbin 4.4 (28)
Mount Pleasant 18.15 (123) def Elmore 12.9 (81)
North Bendigo 13.14 (92) def L'ville-Gunbower 9.13 (67)
Huntly 13.7 (85) def Heathcote 9.11 (65)
White Hills bye
ROUND 3:
Heathcote 21.15 (141) def L'ville-Gunbower 8.4 (52)
Colbinabbin 15.12 (102) def Huntly 5.7 (37)
White Hills 17.19 (121) def North Bendigo 9.10 (64)
LBU 15.16 (106) def Mount Pleasant 9.5 (59)
Elmore bye
ROUND 4:
LBU 31.8 (194) def Elmore 7.6 (48)
Colbinabbin 24.16 (160) def L'ville-Gunbower 2.4 (16)
White Hills 24.11 (155) def Heathcote 7.15 (57)
Huntly 13.12 (90) def Mount Pleasant 8.7 (55)
North Bendigo bye
ROUND 5:
White Hills 12.13 (85) def Colbinabbin 7.11 (53)
Mount Pleasant 16.18 (114) def L'ville-Gunbower 13.6 (84)
North Bendigo 13.12 (90) def Heathcote 11.13 (79)
Elmore 11.13 (79) def Huntly 11.12 (78)
LBU bye
ROUND 6:
White Hills 23.16 (154) def Mount Pleasant 8.12 (60)
Elmore 14.10 (94) def L'ville-Gunbower 5.14 (44)
LBU 12.12 (84) def Huntly 9.7 (61)
North Bendigo 9.10 (64) def Colbinabbin 8.10 (58)
Heathcote bye
ROUND 7:
LBU 22.16 (148) def L'ville-Gunbower 3.3 (21)
Colbinabbin 16.13 (109) def Heathcote 6.5 (41)
White Hills 17.13 (115) def Elmore 10.4 (64)
Mount Pleasant 12.16 (88) def North Bendigo 8.11 (59)
Huntly bye
ROUND 8:
LBU 25.17 (167) def White Hills 4.10 (34)
Huntly 18.12 (120) def L'ville-Gunbower 5.2 (32)
Mount Pleasant 23.10 (148) def Heathcote 13.10 (88)
North Bendigo 19.15 (129) def Elmore 13.5 (83)
Colbinabbin bye
ROUND 9:
LBU 13.12 (90) def North Bendigo 7.3 (45)
Colbinabbin 11.9 (75) def Mount Pleasant 10.2 (62)
White Hills 8.5 (53) def Huntly 6.11 (47)
Elmore 9.10 (64) def Heathcote 8.14 (62)
Leitchville-Gunbower bye
ROUND 10:
LBU 16.13 (109) def Mount Pleasant 4.8 (32)
Colbinabbin 13.13 (91) def Huntly 6.5 (41)
Heathcote 11.7 (73) def L'ville-Gunbower 7.8 (50)
North Bendigo 9.17 (71) def White Hills 9.10 (64)
Elmore bye
ROUND 11:
Colbinabbin 25.14 (164) def L'ville-Gunbower 2.5 (17)
LBU 16.13 (109) def Elmore 5.4 (34)
Mount Pleasant 16.10 (106) def Huntly 5.10 (40)
White Hills 8.17 (65) def Heathcote 5.10 (40)
North Bendigo bye
ROUND 12:
North Bendigo 24.14 (158) def Heathcote 6.7 (43)
Mount Pleasant 20.27 (147) def L'ville-Gunbower 6.7 (43)
Huntly 18.10 (118) def Elmore 7.14 (56)
Colbinabbin 13.16 (94) def White Hills 7.8 (50)
LBU bye
ROUND 13:
Round abandoned
ROUND 14:
Round abandoned
ROUND 15:
LBU 28.11 (179) def White Hills 6.9 (45)
North Bendigo 22.25 (157) def Elmore 3.10 (28)
Mount Pleasant 27.13 (175) def Heathcote 8.6 (54)
Huntly 16.17 (113) def L'ville-Gunbower 6.2 (38)
Colbinbbin bye
ROUND 16:
Round abandoned
ROUND 17:
LBU 25.14 (164) def Heathcote 0.7 (7)
Colbinabbin 23.16 (154) def Elmore 10.3 (63)
White Hills 17.16 (118) def L'ville-Gunbower 5.9 (39)
North Bendigo 16.12 (108) def Huntly 6.8 (44)
Mount Pleasant bye
ROUND 18:
Round abandoned
ROUND BY ROUND A GRADE NETBALL RESULTS:
ROUND 1:
White Hills 54 def L'ville-Gunbower 22
Elmore 47 def Colbinabbin 29
Heathcote 40 def LBU 26
North Bendigo 46 def Huntly 43
Mount Pleasant bye
ROUND 2:
Elmore 72 def Mount Pleasant 34
Huntly 61 def Heathcote 29
North Bendigo 48 def L'ville-Gunbower 20
Colbinabbin 54 def LBU 29
White Hills bye
ROUND 3:
Colbinabbin 58 def Huntly 40
Mount Pleasant 42 def LBU 28
Heathcote 37 def L'ville-Gunbower 24
White Hills 51 def North Bendigo 48
Elmore bye
ROUND 4:
Colbinabbin 76 def L'ville-Gunbower 31
Elmore 67 def LBU 25
White Hills 56 def Heathcote 29
Huntly 53 def Mount Pleasant 48
North Bendigo bye
ROUND 5:
Elmore 61 def Huntly 35
Mount Pleasant 47 def L'ville-Gunbower 22
Colbinabbin 67 def White Hills 47
North Bendigo 51 def Heathcote 48
LBU bye
ROUND 6:
Elmore 77 def L'ville-Gunbower 22
Colbinabbin 74 def North Bendigo 36
Huntly 52 def LBU 28
White Hills 41 dr Mount Pleasant 41
Heathcote bye
ROUND 7:
Colbinabbin 68 def Heathcote 35
Elmore 71 def White Hills 38
L'ville-Gunbower 43 def LBU 39
North Bendigo 49 def Mount Pleasant 46
Huntly bye
ROUND 8:
White Hills 67 def LBU 23
Mount Pleasant 69 def Heathcote 34
Elmore 69 def North Bendigo 42
Huntly 44 def L'ville-Gunbower 35
Colbinabbin bye
ROUND 9:
Elmore 65 def Heathcote 29
North Bendigo 50 def LBU 32
Colbinabbin 57 def Mount Pleasant 43
Huntly 34 def White Hills 27
Leitchville-Gunbower bye
ROUND 10:
Mount Pleasant 49 def LBU 27
Colbinabbin 57 def Huntly 49
White Hills 53 def North Bendigo 45
Heathcote 30 def L'ville-Gunbower 28
Elmore bye
ROUND 11:
Colbinabbin 80 def L'ville-Gunbower 32
White Hills 55 def Heathcote 26
Elmore 59 def LBU 30
Mount Pleasant 45 def Huntly 31
North Bendigo bye
ROUND 12:
Elmore 71 def Huntly 41
Mount Pleasant 46 def L'ville-Gunbower 28
Colbinabbin 56 def White Hills 43
North Bendigo 39 def Heathcote 27
LBU bye
ROUND 13:
Round abandoned
ROUND 14:
Round abandoned
ROUND 15:
White Hills 58 def LBU 10
Elmore 66 def North Bendigo 43
Mount Pleasant 54 def Heathcote 38
Huntly 45 def L'ville-Gunbower 32
Colbinabbin bye
ROUND 16:
Round abandoned
ROUND 17:
White Hills 52 def L'ville-Gunbower 23
Elmore 82 def Colbinabbin 63
Huntly 47 def North Bendigo 29
Heathcote 32 def LBU 28
Mount Pleasant bye
ROUND 18:
Round abandoned
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