Lucky dip: four VFL clubs pick up extra home game
With seven home-and-away rounds in the fixture, the league pulled names out of a hat to decide which clubs would play four home games. Coburg, Frankston, Williamstown and Casey Demons were in luck.
Victorian Football
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Even before a ball has been bounced in the shortened VFL season, Coburg, Frankston, Williamstown and Casey Demons have had good wins.
In a lucky break, the clubs have been drawn to play four home games in the seven-round season to kick off on August 1.
Port Melbourne, Box Hill Hawks, Werribee and Sandringham will have three home matches.
VFL administrator Sam Sheehan put the names of the clubs into a hat at 10am yesterday and pulled out Coburg first, then Frankston, Casey and Willy.
The irony of Coburg and Casey getting four home games is that neither club has a home ground this season.
The Lions’ City Oval is undergoing a $6.75 million redevelopment. The club will almost certainly shift its games to Craigieburn.
With AFL club Melbourne setting up camp at Casey Fields, Casey must find somewhere to play. The Demons are weighing up Linen House in Seaford, but Frankston’s SkyBus Stadium is another option.
The fixture is being finalised and the Dolphins have asked to play Sandringham in Round 6 in what will be their 1000th match in the VFA/VFL.
Clubs are sending through their “preferred fixtures’’ and a draft is likely by the end of the week.
They must lodge their lists by the close of business tonight, and there will be a host of recruits added to squads.
Casey Demons are being linked with former Melbourne ruckman Jake Spencer, Richmond VFL forward Luke Nelson and North Melbourne VFL defender Ryan Morrison; Box Hill Hawks have regained Anthony Brolic and brought in 2019 Footscray Bulldogs best and fairest Anthony Scott; Port Melbourne is hoping to bolster its backline by snaring former Hawks premiership big man Chris Jones; and Bulldogs pair Jesse Glass-McCasker and Jordan Boyd are tipped to join Sandringham.
Meanwhile Port Melbourne historian Peter Vesty believes the VFL should not present its two majors awards this year, the JJ Liston Trophy as best and fairest and the Jim Miller Medal as leading goalkicker.
He also says the league should play eight rounds instead of seven and stage two weeks of finals rather than three.
The clubs will discuss the player awards this Friday, as well as the idea of quarters not being shortened but teams fielding 25 players.