For the first time in 17 years, no Aussie Rules will be played in Goulburn this year.
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The Goulburn Swans, who played their first season in 2004, have confirmed that they did not have enough players to form a team for the shortened 2020 season.
Club president, Dane Stevenson, explained that the Swans were unable to meet the deadline set by AFL Canberra to ensure they had the requisite number of players ahead of the season, which kicks off this Saturday.
"It's clearly disappointing," Stevenson said.
"We do have a lack of numbers, but in the circumstance and climate that the world's in at the moment, a lot of people want their weekends back to get out and socialise.
"They haven't been able to do so for a while and we understand that, blokes have got to work and they've got families. That comes before football and that's the priority.
"All we can do is try to get blokes to play, but we just couldn't get the numbers together which is disappointing for the blokes who have been training."
The Swans' move is not unprecedented in the AFL Canberra leagues this year. Several teams have pulled out of their respective competitions due to a similar lack of players, while others have just met the bare minimum of numbers required.
Though the decision to cancel the season was difficult, Stevenson said it may prove to be an opportunity to rejuvenate the club.
"I think it's honestly going to be a godsend," he said.
"I've spoken to our sponsors and supporters and they're quite aware of the implications of COVID and they're in a similar circumstance and they're just getting back to full capacity.
"They're very supportive and disappointed for us, but they understand that it's important for us to spend the next few months getting everything sorted out."
Without the competition to focus on, the club now intends to spend the months leading into the 2021 season promoting interest in the sport.
"It's not a positive [situation] because we're not playing, but I think there's going to be more positives than negatives to come out of it," Stevenson said.
"It's given our players the opportunity to step away and freshen up for next season. The committee's focus will be to try and raise the profile of Aussie Rules in town, and to try and develop our Auskick base."
Although there won't be any official matches in Goulburn, Stevenson said the club will give its players ample opportunity to stay active if they wish.
"A couple of our boys are going to play for other clubs through the winter," he said.
"We're still going to continue training, every Wednesday night at Carr Confoy from 6pm to 7pm, and we're going to mix that up every couple of weeks with some scratch games.
"There are some new blokes and some league blokes who were keen to have a run, so we're going to keep the legs ticking over for next year."
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