Canberra Demons face uncertain future after NEAFL 2020 season axed

The AFL has opted to cancel the 2020 NEAFL season following a meeting with clubs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision could spell the end of the second-tier competition in its entirety in a move which could see Canberra fall off the radar for AFL draft hopefuls in the ACT and Riverina regions.

Demons general manager Shaun Young fears the fallout could be huge if Canberra is no longer included in a second-tier competition with the region's best talent likely to then move elsewhere.

Player-coach Kade Klemke is keeping his fingers crossed the Demons program will be retained moving forward but concedes the club is bracing for the unknown.

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"Nothing has been said. I'm hopeful there will be a pathway here in Canberra and that will be the Canberra Demons," Klemke said.

"Fingers crossed we continue, whether that's in a new competition or the way it is. There is too much good talent in Canberra, I'd hate to see players leave the area.

"That's why there has been a Canberra Demons team, to keep players here. There are some really good footballers here.

"I'm sure they want a pathway here, I think there will be some sort of pathway. I can't see them scrapping it altogether, but who knows, honestly? We hope there will be something here. We'll continue acting like it is."

Brisbane Lions chief executive Greg Swann has said the NEAFL is unlikely to return in 2021, with the AFL club exploring a move into the VFL.

There is a chance the Sydney Swans, GWS Giants, and Gold Coast Suns follow suit, sparking discussions about an eastern seaboard second-tier competition.

The four AFL clubs were ruled out of playing in the NEAFL this year, given its part-time nature would not enable AFL-listed players to adhere to the strict medical protocols in place following the coronavirus outbreak.

Officials considered operating a five team league, or adding AFL club academies into the mix. However Young says "the more you looked into it, it just wasn't feasible".

Demons contracts now become null and void with players free to link up with clubs in the AFL Canberra competition should they wish to. Klemke is considering a return to the Queanbeyan Tigers, a club "I've got a lot of history" at.

Club bosses were planning an online video call with the playing group to discuss the fallout from the NEAFL cancellation with the topic of joining local clubs on the agenda.

"That'll be a discussion piece, if anyone has got any interest in playing locally," Young said.

"Based on that information, I will disseminate that list to all clubs locally, in readiness for them to pursue whoever they would like.

"It is disappointing. We share the same views as the AFL, we all tried to come up with the competition but at the end of the day, the difficulties in doing so didn't lend to us participating in 2020.

"For our players it is disappointing, and for our coaches and everyone involved. At the end of the day though, I think it is the right decision.

"The difficulty with five clubs remaining, once the four AFL clubs couldn't be involved, and the crossing of the borders when borders still aren't open, it's problematic.

"Everyone tried to come up with a model, but the more you looked into it, it just wasn't feasible."

The NEAFL began in 2011 with AFL Canberra clubs Queanbeyan, Ainslie, Belconnen, Tuggeranong and Eastlake joining the eastern conference in a 17-team league.

Slowly clubs began to drop back into the AFL Canberra competition, with Eastlake rebranding as Canberra when they stood as the region's lone NEAFL outfit.