The Western Region Football League will recognise its minor premiers, but there will be no promotion and relegation.
The league last week announced the outcome of the season, after it was cut short by the latest lockdown.
No finals series were played in any of the football or netball competitions.
In a statement on its website, the league said the board was determined to acknowledge and recognise the team on top of the ladder when the season was cancelled.
“While consideration was given to the awarding of premierships as opposed to minor premierships, the decision to award minor premierships only again acknowledged the reality that despite its best efforts, the league was unable to play a finals series across any one competition, with the completion of a finals series again considered critical in order to recognise and award fully fledged premierships.”
Altona, Wyndhamvale, Wyndham Suns are the minor premiers in the three men’s divisions, while Manor Lakes and West Footscray will be recognised in the two women’s competitions.
Players of junior teams that finished on top of the ladder, will be presented with minor premier medallions.
The league also announced that there wouldn’t be promotion and relegation for its senior men’s competition.
The statement said clubs were surveyed on their views of promotion and relegation, with the majority clubs against promotion and relegation.
“In making this determination, the board identified that fundamental to the promotion/relegation process was the completion of a finals series.
“As desperately as the entire WRFL community wanted to complete a finals series this season, the board acknowledged the reality that this had not been able to occur.
“The WRFL board also took into consideration the minimal number of senior matches completed over the past two seasons, recognising the significantly reduced sample size of completed matches to adequately inform any promotion/relegation process.
“The board also recognised the inequities between different club fixtures as a result of intermittent lockdowns throughout the season, acknowledging the varied implications these lockdowns had on respective club fixtures and in turn the make-up of competition ladders at the time the season came to an abrupt end in early August.”
Those who were looking at relegation were Point Cook, which was sitting bottom in division 1, and West Footscray, which was sitting bottom in division 2.
The league will present individual awards including best and fairest awards in online ceremonies in coming weeks.
