Upper Great Southern Football League set to return next weekend after round nine was cancelled due to COVID

Round nine of the Upper Great Southern Football League was cancelled at the weekend due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place for the Perth and Peel regions.

But if restrictions stay lifted, the UGSFL will return to the field for round 10 next week in the run home to the finals.

The weekend’s fixtures were called off because a number of teams had Perth and Peel-based players who were unable to attend recreational facilities.

Boddington, situated in the Peel region, would not have been able to play.

No team was awarded points and the ladder stays the same after round nine.

UGSFL president Tim Cowcher said the cancellation was disappointing but it had to be done.

“We made the call about 2.30pm on Friday to cancel the round,” he said.

“We waited as long as we could but with no people from those regions allowed to play it would have been hard for teams.

“It was just an abandoned round so no team gets points.

“We will return next weekend if everything keeps going smoothly.”

The top four all but looks set with the third and fourth placed teams sitting four games clear with five rounds remaining.

Meanwhile, the Nutrien Ag Country Football Championships set to take place in Perth this weekend have also been cancelled.

The Women’s Country Football Championships were scheduled to be played last weekend, before the CBH Group Colts Championships and Nutrien Ag Country Football Champs from today until Saturday.

All three competitions were called off after a COVID-19 outbreak in Perth triggered a four-day lockdown in the Perth and Peel regions last week.

In a statement last Tuesday, WA Football Commission country football manager Tom Bottrell described the cancellation as an “extremely difficult decision”.

The UGSFL was planning to send away a strong senior side that would have been a major contender to take out the division one title.