2020 Lightning Premiership season

[tiers 2,840]

Heard stories today about sending teams to quarantine for two weeks in the same spot and then playing footy.

Tasmania, which was already socially distancing itself from the rest of the world, seems like a good starting point.

Send 18 teams with coaches and staff to Tassie, wait 2 weeks then start training for a lightning premiership season based on a truncated series of matches.

Every team plays every other team once (there is of course no home ground advantage) over a short period, say two games a week with minimum 3 days rest with a new game every night for the season to clean up with the TV viewing (just like T20 cricket). If the season runs into spring and summer, so what as it never gets too hot in Tassie and there is no international cricket season to protect.

Top eight teams make the finals and an express final series to be played for the premiership. If the virus is under control, play the GF on the G on any day of the week so as not to upset the precious cricket crowd. We will of course be gentle with the surface of the drop in wickets but all those studs would only aerate the soil.

Non-stop footy every night on the telly, saturation coverage in the media and around the bbq and cooler (if we are allowed), the locals can attend in club colours (they will also have been in quarantine) and a season to remember. Who would go back to the old ways?

It's yours Gil. I'll let you work out the details of times, duration, number of players in the squad and on the bench, payments etc. But no change to 18 on the field although, like in the old days, the forward and back pockets are for rest  and the resting players cannot chase the ball but can only attack the ball if it comes to them (they will need their rest).

Royalties welcomed. 10% of my cut to the MFC so long as I get my 2020 MFC/MCC scarf.

 

 

[rjay 24,928]

This talk of setting up a completion in an out of the way venue is a total load of c...

Can you imagine 18 teams and staff in one place, isolated from their wives and kids (you could have 18 teams, staff wives and kids surely).

Expect that no one is infected or that no one would go troppo...

I'll tell you what it is.

It's just throwing things out there to keep the AFL in the news.

The media run with it because they've run out of things to report and a lot of their jobs must now be on the line.

It's not going to happen and if per chance it does, it would be a absolute disaster.

Edited April 6, 2020 by rjay

[Diamond_Jim 12,588]

2020 is GONE

[Dr. Gonzo 24,219]

I can't see a 2020 season happening. Round 1 will sit in the history books as an anomaly

[dpositive 1,665]

12 hours ago, tiers said:

Heard stories today about sending teams to quarantine for two weeks in the same spot and then playing footy.

Tasmania, which was already socially distancing itself from the rest of the world, seems like a good starting point.

Send 18 teams with coaches and staff to Tassie, wait 2 weeks then start training for a lightning premiership season based on a truncated series of matches.

Every team plays every other team once (there is of course no home ground advantage) over a short period, say two games a week with minimum 3 days rest with a new game every night for the season to clean up with the TV viewing (just like T20 cricket). If the season runs into spring and summer, so what as it never gets too hot in Tassie and there is no international cricket season to protect.

Top eight teams make the finals and an express final series to be played for the premiership. If the virus is under control, play the GF on the G on any day of the week so as not to upset the precious cricket crowd. We will of course be gentle with the surface of the drop in wickets but all those studs would only aerate the soil.

Non-stop footy every night on the telly, saturation coverage in the media and around the bbq and cooler (if we are allowed), the locals can attend in club colours (they will also have been in quarantine) and a season to remember. Who would go back to the old ways?

It's yours Gil. I'll let you work out the details of times, duration, number of players in the squad and on the bench, payments etc. But no change to 18 on the field although, like in the old days, the forward and back pockets are for rest  and the resting players cannot chase the ball but can only attack the ball if it comes to them (they will need their rest).

Royalties welcomed. 10% of my cut to the MFC so long as I get my 2020 MFC/MCC scarf.

 

 

Too clever to ever be taken up.

Id watch it and support it.

[Bobby McKenzie 2,385]

Sadly, season 2020 is done and dusted. But something to be cheerful about. We only lost ONE game for the whole season!  Whereas Collingwood only WON one game for the entire season. Chin up everybody and stay healthy.

[praha 11,240]

3 hours ago, Bobby McKenzie said:

Sadly, season 2020 is done and dusted. But something to be cheerful about. We only lost ONE game for the whole season!  Whereas Collingwood only WON one game for the entire season. Chin up everybody and stay healthy.

So they are double our win tally for the year. Yay?

[Demonstone 22,526]

No praha, the double of zero is zero.  On a brighter note, we're only one game off top spot.

[tiers 2,840]

I agree that 2020 is now done and dusted but any footy is better than none.

Let's have more original ideas so that we can see some footy.

Perhaps go back to the VFL teams in Victoria only - 10 teams are here and don't need visas or quarantine.

Come on, a year without footy is too much to bear.

[MyFavouriteMartian 572]

7 hours ago, tiers said:

I agree that 2020 is now done and dusted but any footy is better than none.

Let's have more original ideas so that we can see some footy.

Perhaps go back to the VFL teams in Victoria only - 10 teams are here and don't need visas or quarantine. ? 

Come on, a year without footy is too much to bear.

At the old suburban grounds, with,  suburban ground food and fare.

[pineapple dee 2,892]

Let's play 3 games a week  4* 12 minute quarters, no time on. If we get 6 weeks of the season, at least that will be something.

 

[tiers 2,840]

How do we start a petition to the AFL, Vic govt and Fed govt that WE WANT FOOTY, NOW?

Limit the teams, adjust the format, play a game a day for as long as we can and give us our fix.

We need footy.

[tiers 2,840]

They are now talking about recovery times and turn around times for the players. If it is to be a problem (as Zorko says) then change the format/concept.

Each team has a squad of, say, 36 players and their respective game times are rationed by quarters. For example, over five games in three weeks no player can play more than, say, 16 quarters, the equivalent of four matches each calculated as 22 x 4 quarters per game x 5 games = 440 available quarters/36 = 12+ average.

Does this mean that players will be rested for whole games? Yes it does unless there is another way to manage the loads. Perhaps play some only 3 quarters in a game, rotate by quarters, pick a side as horses for courses (eg. stack with defenders against high scoring opponents).

Rationalise positions - who needs a ruckman unless playing against Maxie? Who needs a permanent full forward if dusty or danger play in the goal square? Inside players v outside players - think of the choices for the coaches. Get rid of 666.

Think of the excitement in each game as these moves are played out. Mcgoose and dwayne would soil themselves. Bruce would spend the whole game asking silly questions like doesn't he, wouldn't he. 

For 2020 season only with a self destruct button. But when 2020 is the asterisk year, let it be for the footy not the virus.

[Pates 9,660]

I was initially a bit skeptical about any footy being worth it this year, but I have to say even if this were an asterisk year I feel the fans would get behind the idea of a lightening premiership style tournament/season to have something to look forward to. Maybe it won't be held in the same regard as regular years but at the same time the team that's able to raise the premiership trophy at the end of all this madness will be able to say that they were able to rise above it all.

[MyFavouriteMartian 572]

56 minutes ago, Pates said:

I was initially a bit skeptical about any footy being worth it this year, but I have to say even if this were an asterisk year I feel the fans would get behind the idea of a lightening premiership style tournament/season to have something to look forward to. Maybe it won't be held in the same regard as regular years but at the same time the team that's able to raise the premiership trophy at the end of all this madness will be able to say that they were able to rise above it all.

I don't think we will see crowds at games this year.   Maybe the occasional streaker.?