As a result of the continued spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the VAFA season will not commence before 31 May.

As we advised last week, training has been suspended until further notice and there will be no club events or gatherings until the situation improves.  

We know that the next few days, weeks and months will present difficult challenges for many people within our community and for our club.

Old Xaverians Football Club was established in 1923 and survived many hard times before winning its first premiership in 1938. Then with the onset of WWII, there was no VAFA football played between July 1940 and the end of the war. In the interim, a number of Xaverians lost their lives in that terrible conflict, defending their country and way of life.

When football resumed in 1946, Old Xavs didn't just re-appear but had to be rebuilt, almost from scratch.

Thanks to the efforts of the great Peter Peppard (left) and some others, the club found its way, winning the B Section flag in its third season back.

We've faced other challenges along the way too, and we have met them successfully because we have had people willing to stand up and fight. When the club hit the skids again, tumbling through the sections in the early 1970s, it was people like Jack Bowen and a young Mick Rush (right) who halted the slide with their will, perseverance and belief.

And now the trumpet has sounded again. We are battling the spread of the Coronavirus, not together, as we have always worked, but apart, isolated, with some of us, alone.

When we will return to football, we cannot tell as yet. We will be governed by others with more information at their fingertips and it is certain that there will be no return to football or other organised sport before a resumption is deemed safe.

Despite this, we are still working hard to ensure that when we do restart, we will not need to rebuild from the ground up.

I sincerely thank those who offered to donate the price of the tickets they bought for the Xaverian Football Launch, which was cancelled at late notice. I thank those who have made donations to our club or bought a membership.

Many of our corporate partners have already taken huge hits, and many of our people own or are working in businesses that are under threat. Despite this, many of them are still helping us get through what is going to be a tough year for millions upon millions of people.

The economic challenges are legion, but I urge all supporters of the Old Xaverians Football Club, if their personal circumstances allow, to maintain, or indeed, extend their financial commitment to our club.

The option to donate through the Australian Sports Foundation promises full tax deductibility, and most of those who have committed to our club already this season have chosen that option. You can join them here.

We cannot promise exciting afternoons at Toorak Park, titanic struggles against traditional rivals and joyful trips to Elsternwick to win some more silverware.

Well, not at this stage, anyway. But we will be back.

Please stay safe and healthy. If you need some encouragement as you try to push through this crisis, please talk with family members, friends and others. Talk with Beyond Blue, or talk to us.

The long Red and Black line has never failed us. In times of trouble our network can show its real strength, and we will need to be strong to support everyone in our network as best we can.

Matt Cosgrave

OXFC President

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