AFL 2021: St Kilda players commit to seven per cent pay cut
After loading up at the trade table in recent years, St Kilda players have decided to take a collective pay cut to help keep their talented group together.
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St Kilda co-captain Jarryn Geary says he hopes the decision to accept an across-the-board 7 per cent pay cut helps prevent a Collingwood-style salary-cap crunch.
The Saints have loaded up at the trade table in recent years, forking out decent money for midfielders Dan Hannebery, Brad Hill, Zak Jones, Brad Crouch and Jack Higgins, as well as Dougal Howard, Paddy Ryder and Dan Butler.
It has put pressure on the Saints’ books after the AFL last year cut the salary cap by nine per cent to $13.17 million.
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Including list reductions, it is an average 3.5 per cent per player.
Following a similar move from West Coast, Geary said the players all decided to take the same hit as part of an effort to keep the talented squad together.
“We didn’t think as a playing group it was fair that some players were going to take a 9 per cent pay cut when others were going to take a 3.5 per cent pay cut,” Geary said on Friday.
“We felt it was right to bring it in line so everyone took the same whack, which is 7 per cent, and it probably puts us in a better position going forward.
“It probably means we don’t have to juggle as much money next year and beyond so we will be able to keep (the list together).
“We have worked so hard to get together, it would have been a shame if we had put ourselves under pressure with the salary cap and lose some of the players we have got here now.”
Collingwood had to trade out stars Adam Treloar and Jaidyn Stephenson to fit under its cap and be in a more aggressive position to bring in new talent in coming seasons.
Geary said the tap on the shoulder came earlier in the list build than initially expected, after breaking through for a finals win against Western Bulldogs last season.
“Every good team has to make sacrifices at some stage,” he said.
“For us maybe that came a little bit earlier than we expected, but we are really happy with the result and the maturity of the group to do that for the footy club.”
New co-captain Jack Steele said it was a great sign for the club.
“Every single player had an option, and they weren’t questioning it at all,” he said.
“It just goes to show the culture and where everyone wants to get to.”
Free for all: Latest AFL rule changes explained
- Rebecca Williams
Last year’s AFL season was like no other due to the coronavirus pandemic – but will some of those restrictions carry over into the 2021 season?
Below are all the answers to the key questions ahead of Round 1 next month.
When does the season start?
Richmond and Carlton are set to kick-off the AFL season at the MCG on Thursday, March 18 at 7.30pm.
Collingwood will do battle against the Western Bulldogs on Friday, March 19 at the MCG in the other big match-up of the opening round.
What are the Round 1 crowd figure hopes?
In Melbourne, clubs and stadiums are hopeful of having a 50 per cent capacity crowd.
That is about 55,000 at the MCG, 25,000 at Marvel Stadium and 18,000 at GMHBA Stadium at Geelong.
In South Australia, SA Health has approved a 75 per cent capacity rate for Adelaide Oval (40,000).
Officials will closely monitor the success of the Australian Open before there is a call to increase capacity in Victoria to 75 per cent.
In Queensland there are no restrictions on crowd capacity at the Gabba and Metricon Stadium.
What happens if there’s a COVID outbreak?
The AFL has developed contingency plans to prepare for small and large scale COVID-19 outbreaks.
The league is hopeful it will not need to relocate teams in hubs again but in the case of any outbreak clubs could be moved interstate at short notice to avoid long lockdowns.
Last year players were subject to regular testing, training in small groups and meeting restrictions.
They were also prevented from having members of the general public in their household for a period and subjected to serious sanctions.
What restrictions do players currently live under?
Victorian players are currently not subjected to any restrictions outside of the community laws currently in place.
It means they can have friends at their house and dine at restaurants and cafes like every member of society.
When will the new fixture be released?
The AFL has only released the full fixture for the first six rounds so far.
The match-ups for Round 7-23 have also been released, but without dates, time slots or broadcast information.
The AFL has said it intends to release the details for Rounds 7-23 in blocks of four to six weeks with at least four weeks’ notice.
What will the season look like – how many rounds? When are finals? Grand Final location/time?
There are 23 rounds concluding on the weekend of August 21-22.
The AFL is undecided on what time the Grand Final will be played on Saturday September 25.
Last year’s Grand Final at the Gabba begun at 7.30pm EST.
While broadcasters want the Grand Final to remain at night, Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox wants the biggest game of the year to return to a more traditional timeslot.
“The day slot is really special, we don’t need to copy other sports. I don’t subscribe to the thought it’s about lights and entertainment, I think people just love our game so much,” Fox said.
Training restrictions if Perth issue continues?
All clubs would be subject to training restrictions if West Coast and Fremantle continue to be limited to one hour of training per day with only one teammate.
To eliminate any competitive advantage, the two WA clubs would want every club to be under the same restrictions they face.
Prospects of hubs – what trigger points are there for change?
Community transmission is the biggest worry and what will trigger restrictions and potential hubs.
The AFL is confident the lessons learned from last year will ensure outbreaks are quickly contained.
The Perth outbreak is an example of how things can change and improve quickly.
R.I.P. to the best and most unique rule in AFL.
— Mason Cox (@masonsixtencox) February 9, 2021
Being able to distract and throw off someone kicking for goal by any means necessary was one of the highlights of the game. Sad to see it go. 😢 #statues https://t.co/mnzywyUgI9 pic.twitter.com/diBnsmYqXi
New rules
The AFL has slashed the cap for total interchange rotations from 90 in 2020 to a maximum of 75 among three key rule changes for this season.
The second change is to the player standing the mark, who will only be allowed minimal lateral movement on the mark.
A 50m penalty will be awarded if the defending player moves off the mark in any direction prior to ‘play on” being called.
The league has also introduced a new rule for the location of the mark at kick-ins.
The opposition player manning the kick-in has been pushed back to 15 metres – an increase of five metres.
Zones at boundary throw-ins and kick-ins will also be trialled in the second tier competition.
Concussion changes
The AFL has tightened its concussion protocols ahead of the 2021 season.
All AFL and AFLW players will now have to be sidelined for a minimum of 12 days after suffering a concussion this year, up from a six-day mandatory rest period last season.
The new guidelines mean concussed players will miss at least one match, but could miss more games depending on scheduling.
The AFL says its protocols are now the “most stringent of any sport in Australia”.
Game length
AFL matches will revert back to their traditional length of 20 minutes plus time on in 2021.
There will be six-minute breaks for quarter-time and three-quarter time and a 20-minute break at halftime.
There will be a 50-second break after a goal is scored.
Quarters had been reduced to 16 minutes plus time on last year to provide flexibility to navigate the COVID-hit season.
Mid-season draft/trading rules
There will be a return of the mid-season rookie draft on Wednesday, June 2, after it was postponed in 2020 due to COVID.
It will be a one-off event.
Clubs have to have an open list spot to select a player.
List sizes
Clubs will be allowed to have a minimum of 37 players and a maximum of 44 players on their lists this season.
Primary lists must have no less than 36 players and no more than 38 players.
The salary cap for all 18 clubs has been cut by nine per cent this season from $14.5m to $13.17m.
WHY HALF FULL STADIUMS WILL STILL HURT CLUBS
– Jon Ralph
New Geelong president Craig Drummond says AFL crowds will have to return to 75 per cent capacity this year for most clubs to break even.
Speaking for the first time in his new role, Drummond told the Herald Sun that playing out a season with half-empty stadium’s “is not a great outcome”.
“Most clubs would struggle to break even at 50 per cent or less in crowds. You need higher numbers,” Drummond said.
“50 per cent crowds would be satisfactory for the home tenants of the MCG but 50 per cent at GMHBA Stadium is a bit tough.
“Clearly the main thing everyone will look at in the short term is the Australian Open and seeing how 50 per cent crowds worked.”
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The AFL yesterday said it was not yet locked in to any crowd capacity figure despite the push for clarity.
A league spokesperson said it would be guided by the State Government and health officials and their COVID protocols.
A call will be made closer to Round 1 after revamping the pre-season competition to help reduce interstate travel before the regular season.
The Herald Sun understands a 50 per cent capacity is a more realistic target for the blockbuster season-opener between Carlton and Richmond on March 18 at the MCG.
Drummond told the Herald Sun this week that clubs would not be able to make a profit from half-capacity crowds given the lack of JobKeeper funding.
Despite teams having a major advantage playing before 50,000 fans (50 per cent) at the MCG,
the Cats are adamant they will play their fixtured nine games at 36,000-seat GMHBA Stadium.
Medibank Private chief executive Drummond has taken over from Colin Carter after a decade on the Geelong board.
He says the club’s latest stage five development of GMHBA Stadium will be finished by 2023, boosting its capacity to 40,000 and ensuring all home games and finals are played in Geelong.
While clubs are still nervous about COVID’s influence for the upcoming season, Drummond said they would closely monitor the Australian Open.
“We are going to have a pretty good case study for the Australian Open and that will be one of the key benchmarks the government and therefore the AFL will be able to see with crowds,” he said.
Drummond is also hopeful the AFL might reconsider its tough $9.2 million football department cap if Australia can maintain its grip on COVID and bring the game back to prosperity.
“I think it’s a good question. It will depend on what happens with COVID, to be frank,” he said.
“If we can get back to some sort of normality maybe we can see those caps coming up a bit and it would be ideal. It’s been challenging, not just on the footy side but the non-footy side.
“Right through our club we have been forced to make really significant headcount reductions but also salary reductions for non-footy folks.
“For the whole industry it’s been incredibly challenging and it would be delightful to think we can get back to a slightly more normal scenario where we can see an uplift in those caps.
“We are not planning for it. We have to plan for the downside and hope for the upside.”
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