Four-time premiership-winning Edgeworth coach Damian Zane believes senior teams will need at least two weeks of training to prepare for a potential season start after the month-long nationwide grassroots football suspension imposed on Tuesday.
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And regardless, he fears the Northern NSW NPL season will be lost altogether.
The NNSW NPL was set to kick off on Friday but will now not start, at the earliest, until after April 14, when Football Federation Australia's initial ban on training and matches because of the coronavirus pandemic ends.
If football was allowed to resume, Zane believed clubs would then need time to prepare before competition.
"I don't think the comp will start straight away," Zane said.
"Maybe kids could, but men can't go straight back in.
"Even if we are back in four weeks, you miss three rounds because one week is Easter. So you will need to catch up three games, and you are going to need at least two weeks for seniors to train, so then you have five games to catch up. Honestly, I can see the season going."
The NNSW NPL has three spare weekends in its 10-team draw, which would help in the completion of a full 18-round season.
However, the likely need for midweek catch-up games would put pressure on authorities to cancel the FFA Cup. The national NPL play-offs, completed after the state leagues, would also be under serious threat given seasons may need to be extended.
Zane said his players "will be doing something, not as a team, you just can't, but I'm working out individual programs at the moment".
"We're lucky. A lot of our guys look after themselves and stay fit."
