Not crowning AFLW premier was right decision amid coronavirus crisis, Darcy Vescio writes
Carlton AFLW players had just over an hour to celebrate making a preliminary final before footy was taken away. Their season cancelled, no premier to be named. Darcy Vescio on how they found out and what happens next.
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They say a week is a long time in football. On Sunday, an hour and a half was a long time.
When the final siren sounded at about 3pm we were elated, we were into a preliminary final. But that elation was short lived. Even when you know something is a possibility, you can’t brace yourself for the reality.
I had just arrived home and was blasting music when the first messages about footy stopping were sent in our WhatsApp group – screenshots from social media of the news breaking. We were devastated. The excitement of winning the right to compete in a preliminary final against North Melbourne crumbled in seconds. Our season wasn’t postponed, it was cancelled. No team would win the 2020 premiership.
In that moment I didn’t know how to feel. I was a bit numb and empty initially but then the gravity of the situation started setting in. My mum called me within five minutes of the news breaking and we chatted about everything. Mum always knows what to say. She talked about the challenges of implementing social distancing with her prep class. Footy really was just footy.
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While it was tough to accept at first, I’m glad the AFL didn’t jump to crown a premier a week after deciding to play a three-week finals series. Gillon McLachlan put it perfectly when he said it would have been “contrived”. I don’t know many players who’d want to win a premiership on those terms. I know I wouldn’t.
Although things have abruptly ended, at least the integrity of the competition is intact.
There’s been talk about whether the remainder of the finals series should have been postponed and played when it’s deemed safe. I believe that conversation was cut off early due to the nature of our contracts, which end in April. Players are also juggling work, temporarily living interstate and we have international players – shifting dates would be extremely difficult.
I don’t think it would have been good idea, as hard as it is to come to terms with having no AFLW premier this year. Football is so much about form and momentum – gradually building and peaking at the right time.
We can accept having no premier amid a global pandemic.
We’re not sure what the short or long-term impact on our game will be – there’s so much up in the air and no one really knows what the future will hold.
Our coach Daniel Harford told us during the pre-game meeting we should enjoy every moment of our final against Brisbane. He referenced Ronan Keating’s hit ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’ and we howled of laughter, blissfully unaware his words would soon describe the immediate future of footy.
We sang along to the tune in our pre-game build up – I personally thought we should have been playing ‘Lovin’ Each Day’ — for me it’s a bit more upbeat and fast moving. I watched my teammates do our routine Nutbush together – a tradition of four weeks – with everyone not quite abiding by the social distancing rules. We were focused on winning.
As last games go, they’re great memories. But now we move onto something more important.
I welcome the decision to stop everything right now. While we did receive advice to proceed with the season, perhaps as players, until Sunday, we were in a footy bubble about COVID-19. We were still doing what we loved and I can see how it may have appeared from a perception point of view that we were breaking the social rules in place for everyone else. The optics weren’t good. The example we were setting wasn’t the right one – and I was part of that. The call needed to be made.
Life as we know it is transforming quickly and it’s okay to admit what you were doing yesterday isn’t okay today.
Our industry isn’t immune to the effects of a global pandemic. But we were able to hold on for a lot longer than others.
I know footy is a small part of life but for many people I know, their lives revolve around it. It hurts to think about the people at the club who have lost their jobs or been stood down. They’re the people who make clubs what they are.
I had the privilege of working at the Carlton Football Club as a graphic designer for a couple of years and it’s devastating to think many might not ever be returning.
I’m very aware I’m talking a lot about footy. I probably look like a fool to many. The threat we’re facing as a society is far more important. People are sick, in hospital – the lives of millions have been affected. Most heartbreakingly, thousands have lost their lives.
Everyone lives in their own bubble to an extent, and although we must have a worldly perspective, nothing and nobody is insignificant. People love football because of the values it upholds – coming together, working as one, a deep and true sense of belonging.
We won’t have footy for a while but we have a unique opportunity to tackle something together. We’re venturing into the unknown but every person has a crucial role to play.
In footy they say know your role, play your role, listen to the coaches, and the most important player on the field is the player with the ball. Right now the medical authorities and the government are our coaches and we’re all touching the leather.
Please stay safe and listen to the advice they’re giving us. It could save your life, the life of someone you love, or a life someone loves living.
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