AFL to rethink fixtures after Round 13 due to player welfare concerns
Despite the Festival of Football pulling in massive ratings as well as providing Victorians with welcome respite, the AFL won’t yet commit to another compressed fixture list until clubs report back on players’ well-being.
AFL
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The AFL will announce Round 13 of the AFL fixture on Thursday afternoon then canvass its clubs on the physical toll of a compressed fixture before it considers pushing on with its quick-fire Festival of Football.
The league has been thrilled with the early response to a fixture that has seen it schedule 33 games of football in 20 consecutive days, that includes multiple mid-week double-headers.
It believes for Victorian fans who are locked in their homes under curfews it has been a welcome respite, with the games continuing to record massive ratings.
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With COVID numbers still low in Queensland, the league will not be forced to condense Rounds 17-18 and its four-week finals series because of the health threat in that state.
Instead it will allow teams another week of the fixture to assess the physical and mental toll on players as it seeks extensive feedback.
If the players are exhausted and need a week’s break before moving on there is flexibility in the schedule to push back the next round by several days.
If the feedback is that players are thriving with football under the compressed schedule it can keep marching through its fixture at a rapid pace until Round 16.
Ideally the league would play Rounds 13-16 over the same three-week period as Rounds 9-12.
The league’s plan has always been to play Rounds 17 and 18 over the normal Thursday-Saturday timeline then play a normal finals fixture, albeit outside of Victoria.
It will allow clubs to build into the finals with proper rest periods, as West Coast and Fremantle prepared to fly to Queensland in coming weeks for a second Gold Coast hub.
Ideally the league would continue to compress its fixture until Round 15, then slow down the pace of its season until an October 17 Grand Final.
The league is open to what the AFL Brownlow Medal looks like given it will almost certainly not be held in Melbourne.
The most practical solution would be holding it in Queensland on the Monday after Round 18, with 16 clubs in Queensland and Adelaide out of the finals race.
Port Adelaide would be the only team inconvenienced, but could easily hold a Brownlow Medal dinner in Adelaide with video-links to the ceremony.
The AFL has held a short discussion on plans for the Brownlow Medal but is genuinely open-minded and has done very little work on the timing or venue so far.
There are multiple venues on the Gold Coast that could easily cater for a Brownlow Medal ceremony that housed hundreds of players.
Premiership coach wants more mid-week footy
Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Geelong coach Chris Scott says standalone games during the week is “an idea worth pursuing” post 2020 and believes shorter quarters will become more appealing to fans and those in the AFL industry.
The Cats take on North Melbourne on Wednesday night, as the footy frenzy continues.
Scott said he wouldn’t mind more Wednesday night games in the future.
“I’m an advocate for it, but I will put in the caveat that I haven’t put in a lot of thought and am not privy to the complexity around broadcast deals and what is best for the game in terms of commercial outcomes,” he said.
“But as a fan, and a participant at a club I’m an advocate for more footy, more standalone games across the week. Certainly playing Thursday to Monday makes a lot of sense.
“Even if we had a situation where the players played a little bit more often in the season and trained a little bit less I think it would be beneficial for everyone.”
Scott said a way to make this work could be through either keeping the shortened quarters post 2020 or reintroducing them down the line.
“I think in the fullness of time most people will advocate for the shorter games.
“I think that is the way world sport is going and if it means teams can back up and play more regularly, I think games will be a bit more closer cause there is less time to blow teams out of the water.
“At the very least I think it is an idea worth pursuing (Wednesday night football).”
The Cats come into the clash against the Kangaroos on the back of a four-day break, and a flight from Perth to Brisbane.
Scott said that shouldn’t be used as an excuse at all.
“It‘s a logistical stone in your shoe rather than a considerable performance issue,” he said.
“I played 14 years up in Queensland, I know it’s a little bit different to the Perth trip, but I had three years there [in Perth] as an assistant, using travel as an excuse is one of the great furphies in footy.”
DREAMTIME IN DARWIN A ‘GREAT WIN’ FOR NT
- Matt Turner, Al Paton
Kevin Sheedy says playing the annual Dreamtime game in Darwin is a perfect fit and reward for the indigenous community’s immense contribution to the game.
The AFL announced on Friday the Northern Territory capital would host the clash for the first time as part of two Sir Doug Nicholls indigenous round matches in the Top End.
Richmond and Essendon will face off at TIO Stadium on Saturday night, August 22 – the day of the NT election – while Gold Coast is set to play a yet-to-be-announced opponent at the venue, possibly the night before.
AFLNT is working with the Territory’s Chief Health Officer and indigenous peak medical bodies to determine the size of the crowd, which will be reduced from its capacity of 12,190 because of COVID-19 restrictions.
A match in Alice Springs in late August or early September involving Melbourne is also on the cards.
The NT will be the fifth state or territory to host matches so far this season, as the league grapples with pandemic-related fixture hurdles.
It is understood the Territory is keen to have more games this year but it may be complicated by the build-up to wet season – in September the average temperature is 33C.
Hall of Fame Legend Sheedy, who coached indigenous stars such as Michael Long and Gavin Wanganeen at the Bombers, and helped establish the Dreamtime match in 2005, told News Corp having the Territory host the two games was very exciting.
“In the awkward circumstances of the 2020 season, it’s excellent – a great decision by the AFL,” Sheedy said.
“It’s fantastic for Andrew McLeod, Michael Long, Gilbert McAdam, Darryl White and all the other magnificent players who have come out of the Territory.
“It’s great to see the indigenous people and the football administrators get a great reward for the hard work done over 50 years plus.”
Long said the NT would have loved to have hosted matches earlier in the year, due to the conditions in August, but the region was grateful to get them next month.
“I actually didn’t get much sleep last night I was that excited at the announcement,” Long said.
“(AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan) has got a soft spot for the Territory, he’s been up here a few times and loves his spear-fishing.
“Having Essendon, my old team is quite special, and having Richmond here and seeing Daniel Rioli come back and play in front of his home crowd … and Anthony (McDonald) Tipungwuti.
“Obviously Essendon and Richmond have a long history of football with the Territory … and what a great win for the Territory to bring it (Dreamtime game) here.”
TIO Stadium has hosted 20 matches, including one last year, Adelaide’s Round 11 clash with Melbourne.
AFLNT chairman Sean Bowden said the association had initially wanted a “three-week burst” of games in the Top End, before it decided to focus on the two matches.
“We hope it will be one of the great and most special weekends of football ever held in the Northern Territory,” Bowden said.
“As things go and as things develop, of course, we’d like to see those additional games, if it works for the AFL and if it works for the Northern Territory Government.”
Gold Coast signed a four-year partnership with the Northern Territory Government in October that included playing one match in Darwin each season until 2023.
A month later, the Suns recruited their first NT player, small forward Malcolm Rosas, through an academy zone the AFL gave them
The upcoming Suns’ game will be their first in Darwin since 2012.
AFL social policy and inclusion manager Tanya Hosch said “Dreamtime in Darwin” would be a “true celebration of the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander culture and their contribution to Australian football”.
“Sir Doug Nicholls Round creates a platform to profile players who have changed the game’s history and faced racism and discrimination to fight for equality and recognition,” Hosch said.
“2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Discrimination and Racial and Religious Vilification Act, which was introduced in 1995.
“This act clearly signalled that racial and religious vilification would no longer be tolerated in Australian Football.
“We continue to prioritise an inclusive environment for all people within the industry and focus on identifying strategies targeted at the prevention of vilification before it occurs.”
In May, NT chief minister Michael Gunner declared Darwin “the safest place in Australia” and offered to host AFL matches with crowds.
The state has recorded only 31 cases of coronavirus, with just one currently active.
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