AFL’s 20-day stretch of August nights

The helter-skelter experiment that is the 2020 AFL season will take its most audacious step yet from next Wednesday.

A small crowd watch Gold Coast Suns and Fremantle Dockers at Metricon Stadium last month Picture: Getty Images

The helter-skelter experiment that is the 2020 AFL season will take its most audacious step yet with matches to be scheduled for 20 days in succession from next Wednesday.

Reigning premiers Richmond will play the Western Bulldogs on the Gold Coast to begin an unprecedented stretch of 34 matches through to the middle of August, primarily in Queensland and Perth.

Twelve clubs will play four games during the window that extends between July 29 and August 17 but Sydney, the Giants, Fremantle, West Coast, Hawthorn and Carlton will receive a bye. The AFL is mindful of the health status in NSW and has shifted the Sydney derby between the Swans and the Giants to Perth to be played on August 13.

Similarly to Collingwood and Geelong, who clashed at Optus Stadium last Thursday, the NSW clubs will face each other while serving quarantine.

North Melbourne will host games against Melbourne and Brisbane in Hobart in mid-August, but no games have been scheduled for the Northern Territory in this phase of the draw.

Nor has the league scheduled matches for Cairns as yet. But in a bold move, the league has scheduled two matches for midweek timeslots on several occasions through the scramble.

Television ratings for the 2020 season to date have been enormous by regular standards, influenced by the fact fans have been largely locked out of stadiums.

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But the extended marathon will test the appetite of even the most ardent armchair supporters of the code, though it coincides with the window in which Melbourne is in a lockdown due to run until August 19.

The draw impasse was resolved after days of negotiations between the league and the AFL Players Association regarding contractual issues and also the merits of fast-tracking games.

The AFL will allow clubs and players to resume negotiations in regards to contracts for next season and beyond after a freeze imposed when COVID-19 shutdown the season.

Stars are set to sign new deals within days but clauses will be inserted to enable some flexibility given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the salary cap for 2021.

A new CBA is also due to be signed in 2023, which adds a further layer of complexity for clubs and player agents to consider in a time of significant economic uncertainty.

Players who had already signed long-term contracts are unlikely to be impacted even if there is a freeze on the salary cap when the new CBA comes into place.

In turn, the AFLPA has given the league permission to fixture clubs to play matches off four day breaks, which enabled the league to unveil the cluster of matches on Tuesday.

While extreme, clubs will now be able to plan with certainty for the matches, with it certain coaches will manage players and utilise more of their squads than usual.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan, meanwhile, declared hosting this year’s AFL grand final was far from the highest priority for his government.

Optus Stadium is considered a leading alternative to host the grand final alongside the Gabba should the MCG, which has a contract until 2057, be unavailable due to COVID-19 concerns.

Over the past week, the Perth stadium has drawn the biggest two attendances to sporting matches held in Australia since the initial shutdown in March.

But Mr McGowan said the border restrictions in WA may also make it difficult for the state to host the grand final.

“I know for some people, it seems to be their number one priority. It is not my top priority,” he said.

“My main priority is keeping people safe, is making sure we have people healthy, and making sure we create jobs in Western Australia to get our economy back up and operating and keep business and people employed.

“The grand final is way down the list. And if we have hard border arrangements and quarantine arrangements, it may be very difficult for us to host it.”