AFL boss Gillon McLachlan says a new pre-season date and Round 2 restart should be announced by the end of April
Gillon McLachlan said the AFL should be in a position to announce a new restart date soon - here’s when. Meanwhile, he discussed hubs, cutting list sizes and responded to Kevin Sheedy’s extended season proposal.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Footy will lock in a return date in less than two weeks and will no longer be required to automatically shut down for 30 days should a player contract the coronavirus.
League boss Gillon McLachlan said the restart would take place at empty stadiums and warned fans that they could remain locked out of matches for the rest of the season.
The AFL is growing in confidence that the remaining 144 home-and-away games, plus finals, will be played this year.
The Sunday Herald Sun reported last week that the season could return as early as July.
“We’re also very keen that when we start we don’t stop,” McLachlan said in a virtual press conference.
Relive classic AFL matches from the 60s to today on KAYO SPORTS. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly
But the league will not extend future home-and-away seasons beyond 22 rounds to help replenish funds lost from the truncated 2020 season.
It appears increasingly likely that the AFL will send six clubs to three quarantined hubs in different states, although McLachlan would not detail that plan.
“It’s incumbent upon us to look at every option. That ranges from playing the way we have historically, to various levels of quarantine,” McLachlan said.
“We’ll get to a recommendation that will contemplate, but not be dependent, on the moving circumstances of each state.”
On Wednesday the Herald Sun revealed the AFL had discussed a Perth hub with Optus Stadium management. Tasmania and South Australia appear the other likely locations.
Football boss Steve Hocking, fixture boss Travis Auld and general counsel Andrew Dillon are leading the AFL’s return-to-play plan.
MORE AFL NEWS:
James Hird shocked by son Tom’s decision to sign with Essendon
A different stream of executives is plotting what 2021-2022 – the remaining two years of the Collective Bargaining Agreement – will look like.
“It (2021-2022) will look different. It won’t be less, it’ll just be different,” McLachlan said.
Playing shorter quarters and in front of no crowds has given the league unprecedented flexibility for its 2020 scheduling, which could see games played on any night of the week solely as a TV product.
Hocking is still investigating whether the interchange bench should be expanded.
Geelong coach Chris Scott wants six bench players plus unlimited rotations to help manage short turnarounds, both between matches this year and then between seasons leading into 2021.
The $13 million salary cap appears certain to shrink and McLachlan said that would be based on industry revenue, although parts of the equation would have to be predicted.
The AFL warned before Round 1 that the game would pause for a month should a player test positive to the virus.
But that is no longer the case.
“The 30 days applied when we didn’t have the protocols and the resilience measures that we have now,” McLachlan said.
“I’m optimistic it’ll be shorter than that going forward.”
On cutting list sizes, McLachlan said: “There’s 22 players playing every weekend under a new list size or the current list size … there’s not less jobs it’s just a different configuration”.
The Herald Sun understands the AFL is looking at a vertical list model, where clubs can bring state-league players in and out to plug a hole more fluidly throughout a season.
“There’s a lot of work being done on our return to play. We are optimistic that we will be finalising a plan forward by the end of April, and announcing that at that time.”