Fixture 2020 (COVID Edition)

[Diamond_Jim 12,351]

4 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Looks like we might avoid Tasmania this year. (Obviously not including the Marsh Series earlier in the year). 

 

If I was Tassie I would be a little upset about paying Govt money for those two matches. Would have expected games between Melb teams this year

[Lucifers Hero 38,962]

"Upcoming byes won't be at the same time and are likely to be scattered across three or four weeks but Melbourne and Essendon won't have one".

aflpa-boss-presents-contract-ultimatum-to-afl-on-fixture

I don't mind that.  Normally players would take a bit of a holiday etc. during the bye.  But now they are stuck in the AFL 'bubble' effectively in lockdown at their respective hubs.  They have and will have plenty of downtime between training and games for r and r.  For those with a bye, 10-14 days without structured work is a lot of time for golf etc

As long as there is no flight involved for the Ess game or at either end of the game we should be fine.

What I wouldn't like to see is the Alice game to before or after it.

Edited July 16, 2020 by Lucifer's Hero

[binman 41,942]

16 hours ago, Demonland said:

Punished again for something we didn’t do. 

That's exactly what my 17 year old son is always telling me!

[Demonland 70,250]

October 17 is the new tentative Grand Final date.

 

[JTR 2,840]

2 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

"Upcoming byes won't be at the same time and are likely to be scattered across three or four weeks but Melbourne and Essendon won't have one".

aflpa-boss-presents-contract-ultimatum-to-afl-on-fixture

I don't mind that.  Normally players would take a bit of a holiday etc. during the bye.  But now they are stuck in the AFL 'bubble' effectively in lockdown at their respective hubs.  They have and will have plenty of downtime between training and games for r and r.  For those with a bye, 10-14 days without structured work is a lot of time for golf etc

As long as there is no flight involved for the Ess game or at either end of the game we should be fine.

What I wouldn't like to see is the Alice game to before or after it.

Probably more interesting (to me) from that article, was this...

 

"The AFL is hoping to hold this year's Toyota AFL Grand Final on October 17, which is the same day as the Caulfield Cup is currently scheduled for.

However, the sticking point remains the contract situation that has prevented players locking away their future, particularly for those who are unsigned beyond this season.

The injury risk that comes with the truncated fixture was "unacceptable" when footballers' futures were in doubt, Marsh said, even though it was "an extraordinary year" with the COVID-19 crisis.

Marsh had an online discussion on Wednesday with all players, who stated this issue was "critically important".

He has presented that stance to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, and expected to hear back from him on Thursday.

"If we can't get this contract situation sorted out, then it becomes an unacceptable risk from the players' perspective," Marsh told SEN radio.

"So I think we then get back to just playing weekly, like we've been doing, which is an option. There's no reason the season couldn't extend for another three weeks.

"We've said since day one here that the players are prepared to play until the end of the year, and that hasn't changed. We may need that runway depending on where this virus gets to."

 

Sounds like a LOT more water needs to go under the bridge yet.  This contract situation has been lingering for months.

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,339]

I know it's impossible to know the answer, but if COVID numbers improve during August, I'm really hoping us Victorians will be allowed to cross the borders to see the Dees play.

So hungry to see a game of footy live.

[spirit of norm smith 15,104]

12 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I know it's impossible to know the answer, but if COVID numbers improve during August, I'm really hoping us Victorians will be allowed to cross the borders to see the Dees play.

So hungry to see a game of footy live.

Highly unlikely!! 

[Lucifers Hero 38,962]

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I know it's impossible to know the answer, but if COVID numbers improve during August, I'm really hoping us Victorians will be allowed to cross the borders to see the Dees play.

So hungry to see a game of footy live.

Maybe if games get back to Sydney.

Can't see Qld letting any Vics in for a long time.   Even before this spike they wanted at least 14 consecutive days of zero cases to open the border to Vics.  I would say there is buckley's chance of Vic ever meeting that requirement. 

Edited July 16, 2020 by Lucifer's Hero

[Diamond_Jim 12,351]

Must say I'm not sure that the season needs to be rushed.

We have hubs and we have a relatively clear way forward. Rolling byes and games every night just kill season momentum from a fan perspective

I can see the advantages of shortening times in the hubs but it's starting to resemble a desperation run rather than being simply agile.

GF clashes with the Cox Plate etc are largely irrelevant as the GF will be played at  night/twilight interstate and the Cox Plate can be run earlier if needed as the Asian racetracks will probably be  shut.(Whether the good horses will come is also questionable.)

There's some promising news on vaccines in the Age. They have found the T cell.... (fingers crossed.)

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,644]

I suspect part of the reason for planning to end the season by 17 October is to allow room for the season to be extended should it yet become necessary. If I recall correctly, various contracts, including player contracts, expire on 31 October each year as, I think, does the financial year for the AFL and its constituent clubs. If that's correct, I could imagine that ending the season before 31 October might be desirable. Scheduling for a 17 October finish would give them a two week window to extend and still be done by 31 October. 

The AFL also would want to finish the season before it gets too hot especially if the competition is still stuck in Queensland where it will be starting to get humid in late October. It will also not want to compromise season 2021 by finishing so late this year that it interferes with the preparation for 2021, remembering that the players will still need a decent break before pre-season training for 2021 commences.

[Demonland 70,250]

 

[Nasher 33,607]

15 minutes ago, Demonland said:

 

@Skuitwill be happy!

[Demonland 70,250]

2 minutes ago, Nasher said:

@Skuitwill be happy!

You'll get a chance to watch some footy too. Just not the Demons.

 

[Nasher 33,607]

1 minute ago, Demonland said:

You'll get a chance to watch some footy too. Just not the Demons.

 

On a scale of 0 to 10, my desire to go watch Hawthorn play is about negative eleventy billion.

[Lucifers Hero 38,962]

Teams that have a game plan tailored to their Home ground may struggle for success this year.  In partaicular Cats, Bulldogs, Tigers.

Cats will be playing on larger grounds, Bulldogs will have damper, slippery conditions and Tigers bank on MCG wins so can (and do) drop a few games at other grounds.

In some respects this season has become more of a level playing field for Vic teams.

[Demonland 70,250]

Now Geelong want to host the AFL Grand Final. 

 

[Lucifers Hero 38,962]

2 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Now Geelong want to host the AFL Grand Final. 

 

Ridiculous idea!!  ?

[old55 22,775]

15 hours ago, Nasher said:

On a scale of 0 to 10, my desire to go watch Hawthorn play is about negative eleventy billion.

Agree but it goes up a fair bit if they lose.

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

Sheez....428 new cases today, this virus has Don Bradman batting for it.

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

2 hours ago, Demonland said:

Now Geelong want to host the AFL Grand Final. 

 

Of course they do......theyre a bit slow down there.

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

3 hours ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Sheez....428 new cases today, this virus has Don Bradman batting for it.

More testing = more cases = lower mortality rate.

Its actually great news, but the media will of course make it out to be the apocalypse.

[Lucifers Hero 38,962]

3 minutes ago, GoGetRossLyon said:

More testing = more cases = lower mortality rate.

More testing = more cases = less idea where cases were infected = Chairman Dan has NFI what to do!

Its out of control, now.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,644]

51 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

More testing = more cases = less idea where cases were infected = Chairman Dan has NFI what to do!

Its out of control, now.

Maybe, maybe not. Apparently the boffins are saying the re-infection rate in Victoria is now close to or below 1.0. However, it's now above 1 in NSW. I have no idea how they measure it.

See here for the full story. Here's the specific excerpt in case it's behind a paywall (or you can't be bothered with the full story): 

"Health authorities are quietly confident that reproduction of the virus in Melbourne has fallen close or less than one, just over a week after the wider Melbourne lockdown.

The Reff as it is known is the number authorities watch to predict whether the virus is climbing or falling.

The Doherty Institute warns in contrast, New South Wales' reproduction number is believed to be above one but rising rapidly."

 

[old55 22,775]

58 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

More testing = more cases = less idea where cases were infected = Chairman Dan has NFI what to do!

Its out of control, now.

What do you recommend - a time machine?

As Charlie Pickering noted: "When I worked at McDonalds I only got 5 minutes of training on the deep-fryer but still I knew not to stick my d1kk in it"

[Lucifers Hero 38,962]

2 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Maybe, maybe not. Apparently the boffins are saying the re-infection rate in Victoria is now close to or below 1.0. However, it's now above 1 in NSW. I have no idea how they measure it.

See here for the full story. Here's the specific excerpt in case it's behind a paywall (or you can't be bothered with the full story): 

"Health authorities are quietly confident that reproduction of the virus in Melbourne has fallen close or less than one, just over a week after the wider Melbourne lockdown.

The Reff as it is known is the number authorities watch to predict whether the virus is climbing or falling.

The Doherty Institute warns in contrast, New South Wales' reproduction number is believed to be above one but rising rapidly."

I guess stats can tell a story.  But a key fact is we have about 2,000 active cases and nearly 1,000 cases for which they don't know the source, NSW have a handful.  Even at 1:1 that is still thousands of new cases in Victoria.

And Vic are struggling (poorly resourced/poor management) to do the contact tracing so how many more are out there spreading it around.  I may have been hasty saying it is out of control but it sure as hell ain't in control.