However, the main summer competitions retain a mixed range of outlooks as forecasts continue to change in Shepparton and surrounding areas, with Seymour and Rochester the most heavily affected earlier this week.
Goulburn Murray Cricket, while there is much to sort out, was the area of most concern with Rochester scheduled to host Cooma in an A-grade clash this weekend.
With uncertainty continuing to linger, the game is expected to move to Cooma if Rochester’s squad is equipped to play but the venue is not.
If clean up and recovery at Rochester prohibit the game going ahead, GMC executives will need to weigh up whether to postpone the weekend’s fixtures.
The Goulburn Valley Playing Area has only one weekend pennant division slated for Saturday, with division four action currently set for a 1pm start.
Seymour’s home fixture with Tallygaroopna is highly likely to undergo an alteration, even at this early stage, Goulburn Murray Bowls Region secretary Stephen McGregor said.
“With Bowls Victoria moving their Region Sides Championship in Ballarat from the end of the season to January, most of our divisions are still on Christmas break,” McGregor said.
“I was speaking with Euroa after what happened last time, but it sounds like they should be okay.
“Tallygaroopna will play all its home games this season at Shepparton Park and there’s a chance their game (at Seymour) could be moved there.
“Nobody has rung me to say they’ve got problems with their green and we may be lucky in that respect.”
In the cricketing sphere, Haisman Shield and lower grade fixtures alike are still on as of press time as clubs await the extent of any potential flooding.
Adding an extra wrinkle to the mix is the two-day format for games taking place during the coming fortnight.
Cricket Shepparton president Narelle Claney expressed similar sentiments to McGregor’s comments.
“We’ve been a bit lucky and no clubs have reported any issues to us as of yet,” Claney said.
“It’s a matter of whether individual players will be affected if their properties are affected.
“If something dreadful occurs, we will move to one-day fixtures next week.
“If only one or two venues were not available, we would reschedule those games to different locations as we did in one case last week.”
Meanwhile, Rochester Football Netball Club is due to resume its Goulburn Valley League pre-season in the coming weeks ― but familiar flooding woes are first on the community’s minds.
With large parts of the town evacuated, the Tigers’ facilities are besieged by water again, but the club thanked the wider Rochester population for its assistance preparing around the area in a social media statement.
The Tigers earned widespread acclaim for the membership initiatives that spawned out of the club’s recovery effort from the October 2022 floods.
An announcement from Goulburn Murray Cricket concerning Rochester and the remaining weekend fixtures is expected later this week.
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