A letter from the CEO

 

Dear Demonland,

 

I am writing to keep you all up to date with the latest changes to the AFL fixture following the lockdown announced in South-East Queensland today.
 
Our Round 20 clash against the Gold Coast, originally due to be played this afternoon at Metricon Stadium, has been rescheduled. As soon we have further details on when and where the match will be played, we will let you all know.
 
When the lockdown was announced, our players and coaches were already in transit to Queensland. Upon landing in Brisbane, they were informed of the change in circumstances and have now headed back to Melbourne.
 
Once we know the channel that the game will be broadcast on, we will let you know, as I am sure you will all want to tune in to throw your support behind the team.
 
Despite the whirlwind of events, we are incredibly pleased to still be able to get our Round 20 match away this weekend, considering all that’s going on around the country.
 
At this stage, we are still planning to face the West Coast Eagles in Round 21 at Optus Stadium. However, we anticipate the day and time of this clash is likely to change, to allow us to travel to Perth and undertake Western Australia’s mandatory seven-day quarantine period before being able to play a match.
 

As we have seen today though, things can change at any moment. Rest assured, we will continue to keep you all up to date with any changes that may arise as quickly as we possibly can. Please keep your eyes peeled to the Melbourne website and social channels for further updates as they come to hand. 
 
We are also hopeful that things in Victoria can continue to track in a positive direction and that we can see you all back in the stands very soon.
 
Our players and coaches entered the 2021 season knowing that every club will need to be flexible, agile, and prepared for anything. This weekend has once again proved this to be the case, but I am pleased to say that they have taken today’s events in their stride and are excited to face the Suns.

 

Go Dees,

Gary Pert

Chief Executive Officer

12:10pm: Gold Coast v Melbourne (Marvel Stadium)

2.10pm: Hawthorn v Brisbane (Launceston)
3:10pm: Essendon v Sydney (MCG)

5.10pm: Fremantle v Richmond (Optus Stadium)
6:10pm: GWS v Port Adelaide (Marvel Stadium)

Credit where it is due.

That's an amazing job by the AFL to get those games away

1 minute ago, binman said:

Credit where it is due.

That's an amazing job by the AFL to get those games away

The last two seasons must have been a nightmare for those in charge. Plans can all come undone in a few hours. 

5 minutes ago, old dee said:

The last two seasons must have been a nightmare for those in charge. Plans can all come undone in a few hours. 

let's hope it all stays this way.?

 

Worked out very well, I think Marvel suits our playing style best of all grounds!

That's a re-rostering job my wife would be impressed by.

Well, at least give an approving nod to. Especially since it means she'll be able to see the game now!

She's managing the roster at an inner-west (NOT directly in the 'problem LGAs', thankfully) Sydney aged care centre with about 30% of total staff headcount unavailable due to the one-site-only restrictions, the zone restrictions, and the any-kind-of-contact restrictions. All of which are welcome as far as they are keeping the residents safe, but make roster management incredibly hard. If her shift officially finishes at 5, I doubt she's actually left before 7 in the last two weeks.

I'm sorry. I'm just so freaking proud of her.

Plus, she's become a legitimately intense Demon in the last 12 months or so, so I'm glad she gets to see today's game tomorrow.

 

 

So if we fly to Perth straight after the game, does the 7 days start as soon as we set foot on the tarmac? So could play late Sunday next week?

✔ to the sentiments above.

Some government/AFL hearts in mouths with Suns coming into the State? (To a lesser extent Dons and Swans, too?)

Also, I hope a 'they'll be rattled' attitude doesn't seep into our squad? And I wonder if they get to go home tonight or must 'hotel' to meet WA requirements next week...

Would have been nice for the Qld government to call the lockdown before we boarded the plane today. I’m sure they held out for as long as possible in the hope they would get to see the Dees 

 

Here’s hoping the 4 hours in the air doesn’t dimish performance levels of the playing group (probably will be dictated by mental strength)

 

Fox listed the game as Gold Coast subs vs MFC. What does that mean?

Edit: just realised it’s a typo… supposed to be Suns.  Hahah for a moment there we were being gifted a W. 

Edited July 31, 20214 yr by CYB

1 minute ago, CYB said:

Fox listed the game as Gold Coast subs vs MFC. What does that mean?

Typo.

1 minute ago, Demon Disciple said:

Here’s hoping the 4 hours in the air doesn’t dimish performance levels of the playing group (probably will be dictated by mental strength)

 

Was just wondering this. I wonder how the delay by one day stuffs up preparation? Surely an early 2hr flight, then sitting around then another 2hr flight can’t be good. 
 

Do they do another mini captain’s run or just let the players go home?

GC win/loss record at Docklands. 6 wins and 18 losses.

So we had to fly up gamday before being turned around and I bet the Suns will fly up today and stay the night.. i get that its a miracle to just get the game away but we continually get shafted by lady kick mad the MFCSS

1 minute ago, At the break of Gawn said:

Was just wondering this. I wonder how the delay by one day stuffs up preparation? Surely an early 2hr flight, then sitting around then another 2hr flight can’t be good. 
 

Do they do another mini captain’s run or just let the players go home?

Get them on the bikes at AAMI to get the blood flowing? Keep em fresh? At least we won’t be flying in on game day.

3 minutes ago, CYB said:

So we had to fly up gamday before being turned around and I bet the Suns will fly up today and stay the night.. i get that its a miracle to just get the game away but we continually get shafted by lady kick mad the MFCSS

But on the other hand we now play GC at Marvel and they would be just as flustered having to pack a bag and get on a plane at an hours notice. 
 

And Tmac got to catch up on sleep so bonus. 

Edited July 31, 20214 yr by Jaded

9 minutes ago, Jaded said:

But on the other hand we now play GC at Marvel and they would be just as flustered having to pack a bag and get on a plane at an hours notice. 
 

And Tmac got to catch up on sleep so bonus. 

Boys get to sleep in their own beds and even though it is a 12:10 start, can follow their normal game time preparation when playing in Melbourne.

Suns had to pack in a crazy hurry, jump on a flight, stay in a hotel and be worried about the qld lockdown being extended.

 

37 minutes ago, JTR said:

So if we fly to Perth straight after the game, does the 7 days start as soon as we set foot on the tarmac? So could play late Sunday next week?

You'd think so that would be common sense, but as we've seen over the past 18 months common sense and these types of rules don't apply

12 minutes ago, Jaded said:

But on the other hand we now play GC at Marvel and they would be just as flustered having to pack a bag and get on a plane at an hours notice. 
 

And Tmac got to catch up on sleep so bonus. 

And now he can go home and smash 4 Scotch fillets to get himself ready for the big game

15 minutes ago, CYB said:

So we had to fly up gamday before being turned around and I bet the Suns will fly up today and stay the night.. i get that its a miracle to just get the game away but we continually get shafted by lady kick mad the MFCSS

Aren’t we playing a GC away game at Marvel.. surely that is a win.

I'll put my hand up and admit it's all my fault. I was waiting for my daughters covid test results from yesterday to return before buying our tickets. We missed the boat on staying at Royal Pines Resort like usual but had a bunch of family ready to head down the highway. Then, the son texted about the lockdown and bam, lockdown called, negative test result finally came back and the game was cancelled. Had my lucky shirt and shorts all washed and ready to go. Oh well no live games for us this year (except for the AFLW earlier).

So I take full responsibility for the disruptions by getting my hopes up and planning on going.

On a side note, looking forward to watching the game on TV tomorrow lunchtime with a few Melbourne Bitters for luck and hope Marvel treats us well.  Good luck to everyone....

This is a massive job from the AFL to get this organised in very quick time so credit to the on that. In terms of who benefits from all this I think we have to say we’ve got the better end of the stick. The players get to be in their own beds tonight and follow normal pre-game routine whereas the Suns would’ve had to pack in a hurry not knowing when they will be back. We also play Marvel quite well usually and this could be a good opportunity for our forwards to regain a little form. 

Would’ve loved WA to come out at the same time locking out everyone who’s been to QLD (us included) forcing them to play the game in Vic but obviously that’s not going to happen.