No matter what happens, Thursday night's kick-off of the 2020 AFL season will be historic. Played in an empty MCG, it'll begin an AFL season to be remembered, in all likelihood, for all the wrong reasons.

There'll be shorter games, fewer rounds, and the ever-present risk of a player testing positive for the novel coronavirus and bringing the whole thing to a halt. Not to mention empty corporate boxes, sponsors with their own financial troubles going without some of the perks of participation. Perhaps the only silver lining is that unlike NRL chairman Peter V'Landys, the AFL's Gillon McLachlan isn't anywhere near claiming the league will collapse without immediate taxpayer support. Something that, across Australia's entire sporting, artistic and cultural landscape, makes the AFL rather unique.