TERANG Mortlake president Dave Roberts says clubs may find it tough to cough up large sums of money for players in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Roberts, who featured in this week's The Main Break podcast, expected clubs to become more frugal over the next "one, two and three" seasons as the economic impact of the virus is felt.
"I think over the next few years, a lot of the clubs who are supposedly or allegedly paying out big money... It's probably not going to be there," he said.
"It's going to be harder and harder (for clubs) to make money, so I think it will kind of level things up quite a bit."
South-west clubs - including Roberts' Bloods - are yet to hit the field in 2020. Coronavirus concerns forced AFL Western District to postpone the season until at least May 31 in March.
But with less cases across the nation and with Victoria's state of emergency set to expire on May 11, fans are optimistic of a mid-year return for the sport.
Roberts said ideally, with crowds allowed to attend fixtures, a half-season would be a good outcome.
"For a small community club like ours, if we couldn't have the crowd there, it'd be very hard to go forward," he said.
"(Without crowds) you're pretty much not going to have any social functions. You won't have any canteen, no bar, no after game awards or anything like that.
"Your opportunity to make a dollar is not there."
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The second-year president said football and netball was a vital social outlet for many involved with his club.
"I've thought a lot about it over the last two or three weeks and for a club like ours, and probably a lot of other small community clubs, it's probably more than just a game," Roberts said.
"It's for those blokes to get out and socialise on a Saturday. We have a lot of dairy farmers and that's their day out for the week.
"They'll go to the footy, have a pie, have a few beers, have a laugh and catch up with their mates."
Roberts was optimistic of the Bloods' future under new coach Ben Kenna.
"He's straight down the line. It is what it is with Ben," he said.
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