AFL fixture: Players’ feedback to be sought on whether to compress the schedule again
The AFL is close to releasing the next fixture block after Round 13, and the league isn’t ruling out another festival of footy if the players give it the green light. Here’s a few hints what the next few rounds may contain.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
AFL fixturing boss Travis Auld will canvas players, clubs and broadcasters in the coming days before agreeing to compress the next block of games beyond Round 13.
It comes as Essendon has emerged as one of two clubs under consideration to head into a Cairns hub for up to a month.
Auld said he would speak with the game’s various participants about how they had adapted to the Festival of Footy at the halfway mark.
He plans to release the next piece in the 2020 fixture puzzle after Round 12, and if there is agreement to further compress the schedule, it could come with another block of matches at that time.
“We want to spend the next week just getting a sense from everyone about how they are feeling about it (the compression) and how we might run out the rest of the season,” Auld said.
“We have got Rounds 14 to 18 to release, with everyone having a bye.
“There are still a few things to work through, as there are a few moving parts.”
Watch Footy LIVE & On-Demand Every Day from July 29 – August 17 with Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
It is understood the Bombers are a big chance to head to Cairns, along with another side, to be temporarily based there, with rival teams flying in and out of north Queensland for games.
“We think we can have two teams up there (in Cairns) for maybe 30 days and play a few games,” Auld said.
“Ideally you would find two clubs who haven’t played each other.
“There is still a bit of work to do to sort through it, but it would take a bit of pressure off the Gold Coast (facilities).”
Auld also revealed that:
HOME-AND-AWAY matches in Sydney were “unlikely” for the rest of this season
WEST COAST and Fremantle would almost certainly have to leave Perth in the next bracket of matches, but not necessarily into a hub, depending on their state’s border restrictions.
MELBOURNE remained in the mix to get its wish to play a game in Alice Springs, with an opponent still to be determined.
THE AFL expected to lock in further details about finals options – and the timetable surrounding the grand final – by the end of this month.
Auld said: “We have got some options in the run home – do we run a normalised standard fixture framework? Or do we compress again, and if so, for how long? Or do we have a bye between the home-and- away and the finals?” he said.
“There are a whole range of options.
“There is a real appetite for footy at the moment. We have happy broadcasters and the footy has been quite compelling. I think everyone is open minded about how we might bring it home.”
AFL UNDECIDED ON SWANS, GIANTS FIFO PLAN
The AFL is yet to decide whether it will return GWS and Sydney to their home beds with the Giants open to the possibility of fly-in, fly-out football instead of finishing the season in Queensland hubs.
Both teams are about to hit Perth under the current fixture, having been quickly moved out of NSW into Queensland before this road trip given escalating COVID numbers in NSW.
The NRL has exemptions for its Sydney-based NRL teams to fly-in and fly-out of Queensland, but the AFL would not clarify last night if it had asked for or received the same privileges.
Sydney will play two games in Perth after flying out on Friday while GWS will play the Swans plus both West Australian sides.
But the Giants’ argument to the AFL is that it is much more cost-effective for the competition if NSW-based teams can remain at home.
NSW recorded 11 COVID positives on Friday morning, with those numbers stabilising in recent days despite worrying outbreaks.
If the numbers remain low in coming weeks, the AFL would have a decision ahead about whether to relent on plans for 16 teams to eventually finish in Queensland hubs.
Many Giants players have wives and children working or at school, which would make it harder for them to bring families into hubs, unlike Victorians in hard lockdowns.
If GWS was transferred back into a Queensland hub it would likely remain there until the end of finals.
But the league is making no apologies for a safety-first policy, with the Giants and Sydney not as inconvenienced as other clubs, which will have to spend 15 weeks in interstate hubs.
So far, the AFL has read the play well, getting Victorian teams out of the state before border lockdowns and putting NSW teams in Queensland as borders were closed to Sydney-siders.
AFL PREPS FOR ANOTHER ‘FOOTY FRENZY’
The AFL will serve up a double feast of Darwin football in Round 13 as it canvasses clubs on whether it can push ahead with another compressed Festival of Football.
The league on Thursday released another round of its 2020 fixture, featuring a Friday night clash between Carlton and Gold Coast at Northern Territory’s TIO Stadium on the eve of the re-imagined “Dreamtime at the ’G” clash.
Essendon and Richmond will take part in that match on August 22 in a historic game to celebrate the AFL’s Indigenous heritage in the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
Carlton’s clash with Gold Coast will feature Indigenous drawcards Eddie Betts and Jack Martin, playing against his old side, as well as the game’s most exciting first-year player Izak Rankine.
The AFL is confident it can play games in Darwin despite the Northern Territory identifying some areas of Queensland as COVID hot spots and the Supercars delaying a round in that city this weekend.
After 33 games of football across 20 days, the league will schedule a full three days off between Rounds 12-13.
But the Herald Sun understands it is keen to press ahead with a condensed schedule that could see four rounds of football from Round 13-16 squashed into three weeks.
The league is keen to get the season away because of the continued threat of COVID-19.
The AFL also believes the Festival of Football has been well received by Victorians locked in their houses under curfew.
The league will allow teams another week to assess the physical and mental toll on players as it seeks extensive feedback.
If the players are exhausted and need a week’s break before moving on there is flexibility in the schedule to push back the next round by several days.
If the feedback is that players are thriving with football under the compressed schedule, the league can keep marching through its season at a rapid pace until Round 16.
The league’s plan has always been to play Rounds 17 and 18 over the normal Thursday-Sunday timeline then play a normal finals fixture, albeit outside of Victoria.
It will allow clubs to build into the finals with proper rest periods, as West Coast and Fremantle prepared to fly to Queensland in coming weeks for a second Gold Coast hub.
Ideally the league would continue to compress its fixture until Round 15, then slow down the pace of its season until an October 17 Grand Final.
The Hawks play Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on August 22 and are set to spend two weeks in the city, while Collingwood has been handed a Monday night clash against North Melbourne in Round 13.
Brisbane’s dream run continues when it takes on fellow contender St Kilda at the Gabba on the Sunday of Round 13, the club’s 11th game in Queensland in the first 13 rounds.
Geelong should account for Adelaide in a Sunday afternoon clash at Adelaide Oval.
The Western Bulldogs take on Melbourne in a Saturday afternoon clash at Metricon Stadium where the Demons will hope to continue a run up the table after a Round 12 contest against North Melbourne.
Meanwhile, the league is also open to what the AFL Brownlow Medal looks like given it will almost certainly not be held in Melbourne.
The most practical solution would be holding it in Queensland on the Monday after Round 18, with 16 clubs in Queensland and Adelaide out of the finals race.
Port Adelaide would be the only team inconvenienced, but could easily hold a Brownlow Medal dinner in Adelaide with video-links to the ceremony.
The AFL has held a short discussion on plans for the Brownlow Medal but is genuinely open-minded and has done very little work on the timing or venue so far.
There are multiple venues on the Gold Coast that could easily cater for a Brownlow Medal ceremony that housed hundreds of players.
MORE AFL NEWS:
KFC SuperCoach Round 11 trade bible: Best targets coming off the bye
Round 10 late mail: Max Gawn shoulder injury, more KFC SuperCoach rookie options
AFL 2020: Melbourne defeat Adelaide as Max Gawn reveals he overcame injury to play
Dispute between AFL, staff union escalates after decision to stand down reporter Mitch Cleary