Football Wagga have declared a washout for all round 11 senior games to be played this weekend.
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The first washout of the season, with poor field conditions and further predicted rain, Football Wagga football operations manager Dave Merlino said it was the best decision to protect grounds looking forward.
![Hanwood's clash with Tumut in Junee will now be played in August. Picture by Liam Warren Hanwood's clash with Tumut in Junee will now be played in August. Picture by Liam Warren](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/PXdz7cxaE9wLT2SFtRYFbh/3aa1063f-58ec-46f1-a657-63a02f1de3d4.JPG/r0_0_6000_3387_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Junior competitions were already on a bye this weekend due to school holidays.
"Looking at the conditions of the fields, how they were at the end of last week and how they are at the moment based on halfway through the week, they're pretty slippery," Merlino said.
"That's not just in Wagga but our out of town locations as well, and then the forecast of additional rain over the next couple of days meant a washout was sensible."
Merlino said the washout won't just give fields a break but is an important player safety consideration.
"We have to consider player safety and referee safety at the same time," he said.
"The problem with our type of game is we rely on the ground conditions, if the ball can't roll we can't play football.
"If we were rugby, it doesn't impact play there, they can still play because they're just running on the field, whereas with us we have rules that if the ball can't rotate a full rotation on any part of the field, that ground isn't playable."
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It's not just fields in Wagga that have been suffering over the past month but fields across Football Wagga's playing network.
With just one weekend blocked out for washout reschedules, Merlino said it's imperative to think long-term about maintaining the fields in the hope another round won't be called off.
All senior round 11 games will be rescheduled to August.
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