2020 NEAFL season
| 2020 NEAFL season | |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 April – 21 September (not contested) |
| Teams | 9 |
| Premiers | Premiership not contested |
The 2020 NEAFL season was to have been the tenth season of the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL). The season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the NEAFL was amalgamated with the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1]
The season was scheduled to begin on 4 April and conclude with the grand final on 21 September. As a result of a new naming rights agreement with Toyota, the season was to be known as the 2020 Toyota NEAFL Premiership Season.[2]
Additionally, the NEAFL's top-six structure for the finals series was set to be changed to a top-five structure for the 2020 season.[3]
Clubs
[edit]Nine clubs were set to compete in the 2020 season, with NT Thunder having disbanded at the end of 2019.[4]
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
[edit]Like the 2020 AFL season, the season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was formally declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020, three weeks prior to the scheduled start of the premiership season.[5] On 16 March, it was announced that the NEAFL and all other state leagues would be postponed until 31 May.[6]
On 16 June, after discussion on how to proceed with a condensed season in a 'non-traditional format', the AFL made the decision to cancel the season.[7]
Amalgamation with the VFL
[edit]In August 2020, it was announced that the NEAFL would amalgamate into the VFL, with all of its clubs afforded the opportunity to join the VFL, over a transitional period in 2021 and 2022.[8] Six NEAFL teams opted to join: the Sydney reserves, Greater Western Sydney reserves, Brisbane reserves and Gold Coast reserves, and two stand-alone senior clubs from Queensland: Gold Coast based Southport Sharks and Brisbane based Aspley Hornets. Sydney based Sydney University was offered a licence before ultimately declining, due to the cost to compete being too high.[9] The Canberra Demons[10] and Brisbane based Redland both declined to join the merged competition before licenses were offered.[11]
Aspley ultimately departed at the end of the 2021 VFL season.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Club killed off without notice as AFL ditches entire competition in massive footy revamp". 24 August 2020.
- ^ Gaynor, Jacob (21 January 2020). "2020 Toyota NEAFL Premiership Season fixture released". AFL NSW/ACT. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024.
- ^ Elliot, Laura (9 January 2020). "Exciting Season Set for NEAFL". GWS GIANTS. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Thunder no more: AFLNT confirms no NEAFL and VFLW teams". AFL.com.au. 12 September 2019.
- ^ Jon Ralph (13 March 2020). "The AFL season is in limbo with Round 1 to be played without fans". Herald Sun. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ "STATEMENT: 2020 Toyota NEAFL season postponed". AFL Queensland.
- ^ "NEAFL season cancelled". Sydney Swans. 17 June 2020.
- ^ Max Laughton (24 August 2020). "VFL to merge with NEAFL, under-18 comps revamped in massive changes to AFL's second tier". Fox Sports. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Paul Amy (29 October 2020). "Twenty-two teams to line up in the VFL next year". Leader. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Gaynor, Jacob (2020-09-01). "Canberra Demons will not take part in the new Eastern Football League". canberrademons. Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
- ^ "Redland Bombers pull out of new competition". Leader. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- ^ Brendan Rhodes (20 August 2021). "VFL season review: Aspley". Australian Football League. Retrieved 20 August 2021.