The Wimmera Football Netball League has announced it intends to play a finals series consisting of the top four teams, to ensure the season is completed.
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As a result of the changes to the finals, teams in fifth place have missed out.
The planned final-four series will run over two weeks only, with two preliminary Finals and a grand final to be played at the first available opportunity to return to community sport, with or without spectators.
In the event community sport cannot resume until October 2, the league will then move to a one-week final series and the top-two teams only will play in the grand final.
If community sport is unable to return by October 2, then the season will be cancelled and no winner will be declared for the 2021 season.
WFNL are exploring options to live stream all Junior and Senior games for the finals series and more information will be available soon.
In the WFNL senior football, Dimboola were the unlucky ones, as football coach Justin Beugelaar spoke of his disappointment after hearing the news.
"My biggest issue with the whole scenario is that we're six weeks from the planned grand final date. All year with the Wimmera (league), they've taken time and they haven't really thought things through when making decisions," Beugelaar said.
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"The fact still remains that we still have time to have a finals series, so I don't think the decision should have been made now.
"I think they should have obviously waited to see what the state government plans were and gone from there.
"To put it bluntly for me, I feel like that if it was another club locally the decision might have been a bit different.
"I am really frustrated for my players and for the fact for the Dimboola community.
"It's another card to deal with in this COVID scenario and all I can say out of it is that I think it should have been handled a lot better, but it is what it is."
Beugelaar said his side would use their disappointment to their advantage next season.
"It just adds more fuel to the fire for the Dimboola family and we'll be coming back in 2022 with a point to prove and ready to take the competition by storm," he said.
In Stawell the Warriors were desperately unlucky missing out on the planned finals series by just 0.66 per cent.
Stawell Warriors A Grade coach Courtney McIlveride said she was proud of her team's efforts from the year and said they will keeping an eye on 2022 already.
"We are definitely disappointed. It was a season that was crazy and I don't think there is anything we could have done better given the games we played," she said.
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"I am still really proud of where we finished.
"We have had a bit of a chat about it and the players all understand what is going on in the world at the moment.
"I think the players are definitely keen for next year and to finish some unfinished business."
In the WFNL A Grade netball competition three sides were tied on points and wins, with the Stawell Warriors the unlucky member to drop out of the potential finals race.
In fourth-place the Warrack Eagles have scored seven wins with 108.93 per cent and one bye, giving them 32 points.
Meanwhile Warriors, who have defeated third-placed Dimboola and Warrack throughout the season, have seven wins, one bye, 108.27 per cent and 32 points and were stuck in fifth.
Details of the planned venues for the finals will be confirmed when the resumption of community sport is confirmed, but the league have earmarked Dimboola, Nhill, Warracknabeal, Murtoa and Horsham City Oval as potential venues
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