Fixture 2020 (COVID Edition)

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

Another Qld game for the Saints!  Very comfortably settled up there.  

Looks like the AFL have made the Gabba their 'Home' ground.  Finals advantage perhaps?

[Sunnydee 128]

18 minutes ago, Demonland said:

The Dees will take on the Bulldogs in Round 13 on Saturday 22nd August @ 1:45pm @ Metricon Stadium.

7 Day break from the Round 12 Collingwood game.

Hopefully they will release more than 500 tickets for this one! 
Like the Collingwood game, If I can get tickets I’ll be there! 

[Demonland 64,416]

9 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Another Qld game for the Saints!  Very comfortably settled up there.  

Looks like the AFL have made the Gabba their 'Home' ground.  Finals advantage perhaps?

Surely they'll be the next lot of teams off to Perth.

Edit: They played Freo already in Queensland.

[spirit of norm smith 12,840]

Saints and Lions are the most favoured teams this year. Amazing !  Surely the Saints will play Eagles in round 17 in Perth. 

[titan_uranus 22,220]

3 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Another Qld game for the Saints!  Very comfortably settled up there.  

Looks like the AFL have made the Gabba their 'Home' ground.  Finals advantage perhaps?

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

Surely they'll be the next lot of teams off to Perth.

Edit: They played Freo already in Queensland.

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Saints and Lions are the most favoured teams this year. Amazing !  Surely the Saints will play Eagles in round 17 in Perth. 

St Kilda really has had it easy compared to others.

I'd love to see them get sent to Perth to play West Coast but by the end of Round 13 St Kilda will have played 8 away games to only 5 home games. The AFL could feasibly give them four home games for the rest of the year.

West Coast also by Round 13 will have played 8 home games and so only one more game in Perth for them to come.

[Pates 9,536]

Just seeing the Blues vs GC in Darwin the club should be making it an absolute priority that we play our Alice game this year. I still think we should be even pushing for maybe a second and play it back to back with the first one being Essendon on the back of their hopeful Dreamtime in Darwin game. 

Saints and Lions are getting the armchair ride, Lions should finish top 2 and be pushing for a premiership (although I don’t think they’re as good as everyone thinks). 

[Hellaintabadplacetobe 4,089]

40 minutes ago, Pates said:

Just seeing the Blues vs GC in Darwin the club should be making it an absolute priority that we play our Alice game this year. I still think we should be even pushing for maybe a second and play it back to back with the first one being Essendon on the back of their hopeful Dreamtime in Darwin game. 

Saints and Lions are getting the armchair ride, Lions should finish top 2 and be pushing for a premiership (although I don’t think they’re as good as everyone thinks). 

Heard it confirmed on SEN today that we will play in Alice,  they just don't know who or when yet. 

[Kick_It_To_Pickett 2,922]

2 minutes ago, Hell Bent said:

Heard it confirmed on SEN today that we will play in Alice,  they just don't know who or when yet. 

That is terrific news! Thanks for the update. Would be great to get a run a ‘home’ matches up here. 

[Willmoy1947 3,762]

Anyone heard whether there has been a lapsing of drug testing being done during Covid or not?

[titan_uranus 22,220]

2 hours ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

That is terrific news! Thanks for the update. Would be great to get a run a ‘home’ matches up here. 

We will have had 7 home games by the end of Round 13 (i.e. 7-5), so we can only have 1 or 2 home games max for the rest of the season.

I wouldn't mind going up to Alice and being the "away" team for a game or two as well though, given we'll know the ground better than most teams.

[Demonland 64,416]

 

[Demonland 64,416]

 

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

My first reaction is Boooooooooo to finals at 'Boo Stadium' because of the obvious advantage it gives WCE.

But then Tigers, Hawks and Pies have had that advantage with little travel and 'Home' finals at the G for eons.

I just hope that Eagles get eliminated early in the finals series so we don't have to listen to their supporters and watch the biased umpiring. 

And that the AFL negotiate a deal that if finals are in WA that they make adjustments to quarantine rules so that opp fans can attend.

[Cards13 9,117]

It'll be a hot one if played during the day:

Brissy:

October - 26° / 16°

---

November - 28° / 19°

 

Perth:

October - 22° / 13°

---

November - 25° / 15°

[Diamond_Jim 11,679]

The GF is a bidding war between the States (ie how much they pay the AFL).

Included will be things like free hotel accommodation,  share of ground receipts, signage and cold hard cash.

I'm backing WA simply because they will pay more and the Govt will see it as a celebration of their covid strategy.  Qld will be bidding for the NRL and State of origins and will have less appetite for a second multimilion dollar sweetener

No chance of Victorian fans being allowed. Perhaps some expensive and complex (movement limited) air bridges for other States.

As to the lead up finals that's a bit harder.My guess would be three hubs for the first two weeks and then locate in Finals city for the Prelims and GF. If however one city offers to foot the bill for all the finals and underwrite crowd numbers/stadium revenue the AFL may blink as the costs of maintaining teams in unsubsidised hubs is enormous. Even a  final between say Saints and Collingwood at Metricon is a probable loss making proposition.

Finally there is the unknown of whether fans will pay on average $200 to attend the GF not to mention the usual corporate excess.

2020 is a different era.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,381]

By the time we're ready for the Grand Final (let's assume mid to late October), the Covid situation could be very different. By then, Victoria's second wave may have passed and other States might find themselves in a problematic position.

Right now, though, I suspect a deal might already have been done with Queensland, as a way of saying thankyou for keeping the AFL season alive, to hold the Grand Final at the Gabba, subject to the usual caveat of that State being Covid-safe at the time.  

[Lord Nev 13,511]

Rounds 14-16 is set to be played in a similar fashion to the ‘football frenzy’ between Rounds 9-12 with the final round of matches to be scheduled in the traditional Thursday-Sunday time slots.

The rescheduled match between Essendon and Melbourne will be played at some point between Rounds 14-16 after the initial Round 3 encounter was postponed in June.

“This is the emerging view hot off the press. It’s going to be worked through with clubs and the Players’ Association,” McLachlan told 3AW.

“There’s going to be a Round 13 … then they’re talking about having another period of compression if the players and clubs want to do it, and then we will finish with a traditional round.

“During that compression period, it (Essendon v Melbourne) will be picked up in that compression series.

“That’s the broad plan which will be somewhere from (Rounds) 14 to 16. That’s broadly what is being discussed.”

 

AFL confirms when rescheduled Essendon-Melbourne match will be played

 

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

8 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Rounds 14-16 is set to be played in a similar fashion to the ‘football frenzy’ between Rounds 9-12 with the final round of matches to be scheduled in the traditional Thursday-Sunday time slots.

The rescheduled match between Essendon and Melbourne will be played at some point between Rounds 14-16 after the initial Round 3 encounter was postponed in June.

“This is the emerging view hot off the press. It’s going to be worked through with clubs and the Players’ Association,” McLachlan told 3AW.

“There’s going to be a Round 13 … then they’re talking about having another period of compression if the players and clubs want to do it, and then we will finish with a traditional round.

“During that compression period, it (Essendon v Melbourne) will be picked up in that compression series.

“That’s the broad plan which will be somewhere from (Rounds) 14 to 16. That’s broadly what is being discussed.”

AFL confirms when rescheduled Essendon-Melbourne match will be played

That is awful for us.

Compressed rnd 14 - 16 means 3 games in about 2 weeks.  But we will have to play an extra game with Ess in that time.  4 games in 2 weeks without...just don't see it.  Nah, not on.  Not fair on the players.

And, potentially a game at Alice during that time.  Ess were lucky to get their NT game in a rnd 13 ie a 'normal' week.

All the more reason we circumspect with selections and not burn-out players.

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

13 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Rounds 14-16 is set to be played in a similar fashion to the ‘football frenzy’ between Rounds 9-12 with the final round of matches to be scheduled in the traditional Thursday-Sunday time slots.

The rescheduled match between Essendon and Melbourne will be played at some point between Rounds 14-16 after the initial Round 3 encounter was postponed in June.

“This is the emerging view hot off the press. It’s going to be worked through with clubs and the Players’ Association,” McLachlan told 3AW.

“There’s going to be a Round 13 … then they’re talking about having another period of compression if the players and clubs want to do it, and then we will finish with a traditional round.

“During that compression period, it (Essendon v Melbourne) will be picked up in that compression series.

“That’s the broad plan which will be somewhere from (Rounds) 14 to 16. That’s broadly what is being discussed.”

 

AFL confirms when rescheduled Essendon-Melbourne match will be played

 

Look forward to us playing Essendon off a 1 day break.

Seriously, how the hell can they jam our game in there without it being severely compromised?

[DubDee 20,361]

9 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

That is awful for us.

Compressed rnd 14 - 16 means 3 games in about 2 weeks.  But we will have to play an extra game with Ess in that time.  4 games in 2 weeks without...just don't see it.  Nah, not on.  Not fair on the players.

And, potentially a game at Alice during that time.  Ess were lucky to get their NT game in a rnd 13 ie a 'normal' week.

All the more reason we circumspect with selections and not burn-out players.

Not sure it'll be that.  I assume we will have 3 games in 2 weeks like the rest, we just won't have a bye like all other teams aside from essendon

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

Just now, DubDee said:

Not sure it'll be that.  I assume we will have 3 games in 2 weeks like the rest, we just won't have a bye like all other teams aside from essendon

The way I read it, our ess game is during round 14-16.  ie 4 games over 2 to 3 weeks.  At best a game every 4.2 days. 

[Clintosaurus 6,411]

There has to be 18 rounds as teams have a bye. We won't have to play an extra game.

Edited August 7, 2020 by Clintosaurus

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

21 minutes ago, Clintosaurus said:

There has to be 18 rounds as teams have a bye. We won't have to play an extra game.

Yes, there will be 18 rounds.   8 rounds to go. 

I agree we won't play an 'extra' game, per se, it is the 'catch up' game for our 'bye' months ago.  My issue is the 'catch up' game is said to be during rounds 14 -16.   By my calcs that is a game every 4.2 days.  A gruelling schedule.  

Am I missing something...

By the end of rnd 16 all teams have played 15 games.   

Edited August 7, 2020 by Lucifer's Hero

[Demonland 64,416]

1 hour ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

Look forward to us playing Essendon off a 1 day break.

Why not give us a double header to play? 2 games in one day seems fair.

[whatwhat say what 18,793]

22 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Why not give us a double header to play? 2 games in one day seems fair.

only if the peptides have an 8 day break