Coronavirus: AFL cuts season to 17 rounds as opener in doubt

The AFL home and away season will be slashed to 17 games — and Thursday’s opening round could be delayed.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan on Monday. Picture: AAP

The AFL home-and-away season will be slashed to 17 rounds — and the opening round, scheduled to begin on Thursday, could be delayed until the end of May.

The season could run until the end of the year under emergency steps to deal with the coronavirus.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan on Monday night was locked in talks with clubs and players about how to respond to the emergency, vowing to put community safety first after cutting five rounds from the season.

He has committed to running the AFL season throughout the year if he has to, amid uncertainty about how long the community will be at risk of infection. He also flagged player pay cuts, reported to be up to 20 per cent.

A decision is imminent on whether Thursday night’s Richmond-Carlton opener at an empty MCG will proceed, in what would be an unprecedented move for the game. “We are a game, but we are not the main game; the main game is looking after the community and keeping people safe, and that is the clear priority for everyone at the moment,” Mr McLachlan said.

He added that if players tested positive to COVID-19, the season would be halted for 14 days to allow clubs to isolate players.

The original home-and-away season was meant to run for 22 rounds, plus finals, but now it will be capped at 17 weeks, with each team playing each other once.

The original draw will remain for the first four weeks but will then be overhauled to enable the new structure to be implemented.

A special mini-draft is being proposed to enable clubs to draw from state league competitions, such as the SANFL and WAFL.

These state leagues will not start competition until the end of May, which is also a possibility for the AFL.

“We will do whatever we need to do. We have flexibility now,’’ Mr McLachlan said of the decision to cut the number of home-and-away games.

Due to the coronavirus crisis facing the world, Mr McLachlan gave no indications about when or whether spectators would be able to attend games.

He said it was the intention for the MCG to host this year’s AFL grand final but he also hinted that the league would be closely monitoring developments with the virus, which are likely to intensify over winter.

Monday night’s announcement was designed to enable the league time to stitch together a deal to save a competition that could be battered financially if it were unable to compete for a year.

“It’s a time when we need to protect our footy industry,’’ Mr McLachlan said.

“We know what football means to everyone. We understand how difficult these decisions are for you, particularly during a time of uncertainty.

“Despite the size of this one, football will find a way through.’’

Mr McLachlan hinted at the ­serious financial challenges facing the sport, problems shared across the community.

“So much changes so fast,’’ he said.

He said discussions would be held with the broadcast partners about the impact of the shortened season, but said the shorter season, potentially shorter games and lack of crowds would build in significant flexibility.

The fact no spectators will be attending games, at least at the start of the season, will have a perverse effect of being a significant positive for the broadcasters and potentially change the way the league functions after 2020.