GSFL OPINION: The bold decision by the league executive to stand firm and keep the show rolling is paying off

Five rounds of the 2022 Great Southern Football League have been completed and despite the ongoing rise of COVID in the community, the games have continued. It was a bold move by the GSFL executive to stand firm and not implement any rules or regulations around matches affected by COVID this season. Some were calling for points to be shared if teams were missing a certain amount of league players while there was a consideration of rescheduling games or teams who were hit heavily by the virus having to forfeit. While all this was swirling around the GSFL made the brave decision to leave things as they were and encourage clubs to bring up players from minor grades with an emphasis on league and colts fixtures going ahead. There has only been one forfeit so far and that was in the first week of the season when Denmark-Walpole could not field a reserves team. It was a rough off-season for the Magpies, who are going through a difficult year, but to have only one game not played out of 60 is a fairly decent result in these times. All six clubs have been affected by COVID so far and will continue to do so as we move forward. It’s a challenge that we would all rather not have on the agenda, but right now it is part of our life, whether we like it or not. Five weeks in and the GSFL’s decision to not budge, and almost indirectly say the show will go on, has proved a masterstroke. Why? Taking a look at other sports in the region there are games being called off or rescheduled on a weekly basis. Other sports do have less players involved than footy so they are naturally hit heavier by even just a few players in a team going down with COVID. However what they are now faced with is complications, and they are complications the GSFL don’t have. After a month of competition, some teams have played one game while others have multiple catch up games to now find a timeslot to play them in. It is added pressure to an already busy winter calendar in most sports. The GSFL must be commended however for its bold decision to stand firm and keep the season rolling. On the eve of the season it almost seemed silly to not have some sort of rule or procedure in place, but here we are more than a month into this year and it is reasonably smooth sailing. Clubs are dealing with player omissions on a weekly basis and most will struggle to have everyone available on the same day for at least the first couple of months. The positive from that, there are no rescheduled games or forfeits and come the back end of the season this should mean the season tracks as normal towards a regular finals series. There may be more complications to come, who really knows? However five weeks in, the footy has been excellent and clubs and the GSFL alike are just getting it done. The positivity is refreshing and we can only hope it remains to ensure the 2022 season is played out as planned.