Wollongong Wolves coach Luke Wilkshire will start planning for next year's campaign, after the rest of the 2021 NSW NPL season was canned on Thursday.
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Football NSW decided to scrap all major competitions - including the men's and women's NPLs - as the state endured another horrific day, with 345 new cases detected to 8pm Wednesday. The organisation had been in discussions with various state government agencies over recent days.
It means that local NPL clubs the Wolves, Illawarra Stingrays and South Coast Flame will remain sidelined, while doubts continue to grow over Football South Coast's plans to return to the field later this year.
Wikshire said the announcement was "disappointing" but "no surprise given this current situation".
"I'm disappointed for the players, it's a long time without football. But with this situation, we've got to do what we're told and deal with it. The sooner we get this under control and people vaccinated, and back out on the pitch, the better," he said.
"I never stop thinking about football, so we'll still look after the boys and keep them ticking over. It's a long time to have off, so we'll start planning for next season. Pre-season would normally start at the back end of November, so we'll be looking to keep them in good condition until then, with some time off. But you don't want them having too much time off."
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The Wolves are also the only Illawarra team left in this year's nation-wide FFA Cup. The side's round of 32 clash with Mount Druitt was postponed due to the COVID situation in Greater Sydney, and Wilkshire doubts the competition will get off the ground again in 2021.
"It seems like it's going to be very hard. I know there's a lot of talk around that and how it might look, and I know they need it done for the (Asian) Champions League spot which they don't want to lose," Wilkshire said.
"We'll see what they come up with, but I would have thought you scrap the round of 32 and only A-League clubs can play. They're in a bubble so let the A-League clubs fight it out for the FFA Cup this year, and bring those other NPL clubs that were in the round of 32 in next year (for the Cup)."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
