Tasmania set to host AFL next month in latest fixture reshuffle
The AFL is expected to release the next phase of the 2020 season fixture on Tuesday as clubs brace for further interstate movement.
The AFL is set to return to Tasmania after local cricket officials closed in on an agreement which could see North Melbourne play four matches at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena in August.
But this is predicated on the borders to the island state opening, with Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein saying players would not yet be issued with a special exemption to enter the Apple Isle.
Tasmania recorded its first positive COVID-19 test in two months on Monday and health authorities are still to determine whether it is safe for the state to host North Melbourne and their rivals.
Cricket Tasmania has created a four-week window which would allow AFL games to return. Only weeks ago, ground officials had been unable to install football goalposts, which had been a potential block to AFL games.
Based on the Gold Coast, the Kangaroos would ideally enter a hub in Hobart and host rivals flying into Tasmania as part of an ongoing contract with the state.
Tasmania pays North Melbourne and Hawthorn about $8m to play four matches respectively in Hobart and Launceston each season.
Given the border stance, fans would not be able to fly into Tasmania for matches from Victoria and there will also be a reduced capacity for matches.
But the Tasmanian Premier believes the return of the AFL to Hobart would be of some economic value in terms of accommodation and tourism exposure.
AFL clubs are craving certainty over the compressed phase of the fixture in order to manage the welfare of star players who will be asked to play several matches in a short time frame over the next month.
Aside from the guarantee the four clubs based in the Western Australian hub will play each other, the Round 9 fixture is still unknown just nine days out from the expected July 30 start date.
The delay has been caused in part by ongoing discussions with the AFL Players’ Association regarding the contract freeze for players caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
A new Collective Bargaining Agreement is due in 2023 but the full extent of the economic impact coronavirus will inflict on the AFL remains to be seen.
The players’ association is determined to provide some protection for members beyond this year before reaching an agreement to fast-track games in coming weeks.
With the game falling into a recession in coming years, there is no certainty as to when the salary cap will rise again, which is creating confusion surrounding future contracts.
The impasse has delayed the release of Rounds 9 to 12, which will see the AFL squeeze up to 33 games into 19 days, with matches played on a near-daily basis.
With Victorian clubs exiled from their home state for the rest of the month, West Coast coach Adam Simpson believes the Eagles may be asked to enter a hub again later this season.
When it comes footy, it's always good to be clean...
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) July 19, 2020
Really clean... pic.twitter.com/na7cMzRak4
The Eagles and Fremantle returned home after seven weeks in southeast Queensland for the derby on Sunday, with West Coast emerging successful by 30 points.
Simpson expects the Eagles to play the next six matches at home as the AFL rotates Victorian clubs through a hub in Perth currently occupied by Collingwood and Geelong.
But with the AFL determined to ensure no club gets too significant an advantage in a season of uncertainty, the premiership fancies are likely to play matches interstate later in 2020.
“Some clubs are doing 60 days stretches, which is a massive effort for the players and the staff as well,” Simpson said on SEN. “That is a big effort, but I think we will probably do another stint at the back end of the season, but that is a guess because there is obviously no direction with the fixture at the moment.”
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