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Slightly off topic but I just wanted to say that I live in Lucca in Italy and that, from our experience, the most important thing to do is to stop the spread of the virus....by whatever means necessary. We have been in significant lockdown for almost two weeks and the rate of infection will continue for at least a couple more weeks. There are no sports events taking place, we are permitted to leave our house for three reasons only; shopping, to go to work, or for health-related reasons. No shops other than supermarkets, food shops or pharmacies are permitted to open. No bars or restaurants...and you know how Italians love their coffee! Walking outside is only permitted for one of the above three reasons e.g. to go shopping. All shops restrict entry to enforce a minimum one meter distance between shoppers - maybe 50 people in the supermarket at a time. The reason for these measures is because this virus is a beast and spreads amazingly quickly. If the spread not slowed hospitals and doctors will be overwhelmed because it often impacts on the lungs and the demand for intensive care exceeds the ability to provide it. Inevitably, it will hit Australia similarly so I urge you to start the 'social distancing' required. Italians are not known for their rules-following behaviour but I can tell you that they are certainly taking this seriously. Good luck!

It took you two weeks to get to my comment... have you checked the figures since my original comment at which time I think there were less than 100 cases? The US as of today, has 4,657 recorded cases and in just the past day recorded 977 new cases. This has nothing to do with the Democrats; Trump is the current POTUS and he has been failing miserably. My comments were made at a time when he was signalling that people should just go about their business as usual (including going to work), and telling us how he had it all under control, despite the warnings from health experts. You're so rusted on to right wing politics that you cannot see what is patently obvious; he has failed and is now scrambling to do something meaningful. Kiss the ground knowing Trump is in charge??? Hah! Kiss my [censored]!

MEMBERS of the Melbourne Football Club have rallied around the Club in the wake of the news that crowds won’t be allowed into games for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19. In an impressive display of unity and loyalty, over 100 people purchased Melbourne memberships on Monday, generating over $10,000 of revenue for the Demons.

All players over the age of 75, or those with underlying serious medical conditions should be kept away from games.

One thing they can do is maybe send their Behavioural awareness officers to supermarkets.

This is the main reason that Governments are reluctant to close Schools. I am a nurse in Aged care, where the nursing workforce tend to be significantly older than other nursing units. I can confidently state that even at my facility, the closing of schools would have a dramatic effect on our available workforce, not just the nurses but also Kitchen staff and cleaners. Cleaners will be particularly busy in this event. The problem is much worse in general nursing wards, and especially dire in places like Emergency wards when the proportion of medical and Nursing staff with school aged kids is much higher than in Aged care. The staff wont want to leave their little germ factories with Nan and Pop for obvious reasons, so they will just call in sick. You only have to see what happens in our business every time School holidays comes around. "Sick leave" increases substantially. Children seem to be much less at risk from this virus for unknown reasons, and closing Schools will have huge ramifications for the health profession. I reckon it will have to be a last resort move by Governments.

Cancel season until Harley Bennell’s calves are ready.

I don't understand your line of argument here, Dante. Are you sticking up for Trump or just playing "whataboutism"? And what the heck does an Australian politician have to do with USA's situation? I'll meet you halfway and tell you what I wouldn't do, but what Trump and his administration have done: 1. I wouldn't claim the whole thing was a hoax and a conspiracy by my political opponents and/or China. 2. I wouldn't claim that fewer than five people would be infected. 3. I wouldn't claim that the virus is just the same as the flu. 4. I wouldn't claim that anybody who needed a test could get one. 5. I wouldn't claim that we were very close to a vaccine. 6. I wouldn't claim the virus will go away once the hot weather arrives. 7. I wouldn't claim that risk to citizens is low. 8. I wouldn't claim that the virus will miraculously disappear one day. Now, I don't claim to have the solution to this problem but telling lies, being wrong about the facts and not acting a lot sooner surely doesn't help. Thinking that Trump is unfit for the presidency doesn't automatically make you a "leftie", either.

They seem to be using this whole scenario as a trojan horse to introduce all of the daft ideas they want to inflict on the game that would otherwise suffer fan backlash.

Whats the point of shortened quarters lol Either you play or you dont

I'm a cynical bastard, but I appreciate that the Government are screwed either way. It's easy to sit back and criticize, but looking at the situation objectively, the Government is forced to choose between very bad and catastrophic options. Wrong decisions at this point could cost thousands of lives. Shutting down schools, workplaces and public transport would create chaos in it's own right - and may not do much to slow the spread in any case. I don't envy the poor bastards making these decisions - I doubt they'd be sleeping very easily atm. Don't get me wrong - I love footy and it would be a great distraction - but realistically, the AFL won't be able to run a comp once a player or coach tests positive - which statistically speaking, is a virtual certainty in the very near future. There's a very good reason every major sporting code in the world is being suspended, and it isn't groupthink. Let's agree to disagree on this one!

So Webber what is a greater risk, the footy starting until a player is diagnosed as having Covid19 or shopping, public transport and going to school. Until we ban public transport and going to school and going shopping we have no justification in stopping the football. The risk is miniscule compared public transport and going to school and going shopping.

I assume it's to take into account not having the bye rounds but yeah.

The latest I heard is the slow broad spread of COVID in Australia and it will peak around late May. So delaying the season a few weeks won't help. this must be why they are trying to get a few games in and then then take a break. it's going to be a weird weird season either way

I'll be happy to watch anyone...

It's not often that our game not having any international interest can be to our advantage. But having no teams in the competition from outside Australia helps keep the 2020 competition a possibility. With travel bans in place it is obviously much harder, or even impossible, for those competitions which have teams in different countries. While I understand the view of some that we shouldn't be playing at all, I can also see that as a society we need entertainment, particularly activities that can be consumed at home. If it is safe for the AFL to play (and I appreciate it's a big 'if' and that it's a very changeable landscape), I think they're doing the community a service by continuing to play.

You're choosing to ignore a few key facts. Obviously, closing schools would be ideal in one sense, but closing schools has significant ramifications. Who looks after the kids? Either grandparents, who are likely to be at risk from the virus, or parents, who then need to stay at home from work. There goes a significant number of Australia's medical staff at the time when they are needed most. The Government advice to keep schools open (for now) is not made lightly and takes into account the best available medical advice in terms of risk. Usually, when I go shopping or take public transport, I try my best to avoid tackling those around me which lowers the risk somewhat. The number of cases in Aus is currently doubling every 4 days or so. You don't need to be Einstein to work out that it's a matter of when, not if a player tests positive (almost certainly within the next couple of weeks). When that happens, the AFL will have no choice but to postpone/ cancel the season.

contact Essendrug and go for Hird immunity.

Option 1 by a mile. Amazed people think otherwise.

GOT IT WHEN IT WAS MOST NEEDED! (Not Corona virus - no one needs that) It was sweet beating the Cats first up, but by God knocking out Hawthorn was equally as good.

It’s been scientifically proven the virus can not be transmitted after the 25 minute mark or each quarter.

Glorious moment in History

Melbourne players are unanimous in their commitment to playing Round 1 this weekend. Captain Max Gawn revealed this morning his teammates voted in favour of kicking off the season as planned during last night's historic phone hook-up and survey with the AFL Players' Association. The players voted in favour of starting the season on Thursday night. While players are concerned about the health and safety of their peers and the community, they understand the position and the importance of the football season to the lives of many. "From all reports, all 45 guys that we have obviously have health concerns but are understanding that footy is the answer at the moment," Gawn said. "So Round 1, we want to go ahead and that's what I expressed to the PA (AFL Players' Association) yesterday. "There's no one holding back from a Melbourne point of view because we've got a dream start. We get to go to Perth to play West Coast who are one of the better teams in the comp and I think Perth are lower down on the coronavirus cases at the moment, so it might be safer over there and they also have no crowds, which I mean, I think that's an interesting case because Optus (Stadium) is absolutely booming with the crowds, so it'd be quite unprecedented." The AFL is yet to make a final decision, however, on whether Thursday night's Richmond-Carlton season opener will go ahead. But Gawn said he's confident matches will be played as planned. "Yeah that's how I thought it'd happen. Anything can change, I understand that, and to be honest I didn't love Gil's (Gillon McLachlan) press conference where he didn't seem as confident about Round 1 as he has in the past," he told RSN 927. The matter of taking a pay cut to help ease the financial strain on the game caused by the coronavirus crisis is less clear. There are some concerns over how a mooted 20 per cent pay cut will affect younger players on smaller salaries. But a jovial Gawn has a solution for his club. "What we're going to do is we're going to corner Steven May and Jake Lever and just obviously show them the amount of games they've played because they've got their money and hope they'll be able to help out a few of the younger boys," he joked. "That's what we're going to do." On a more serious note, he said: "I don't think the AFL players have necessarily agreed to a pay cut yet, which is the vibe I was getting, but I understand it'll be all hands on deck if we do lose some money here."

There is no risk to the greater public of players competing in empty stadiums, EXCEPT if just one of those players has the virus, when of course they would either be asymptomatic yet infectious, or pre-symptomatic yet infectious. Other players would unequivocally be infected (initially pre-symptomatic), and they would then have contact with football club staff, family, friends and others, not knowing they’re infectious, and so on it spreads. Footballers, (like the greater public) unless symptomatically suspect or positively diagnosed, are NOT in self-isolation or quarantine. What’s being missed by some on here is that the virus spreads during the period of asymptomatic but infectious incubation. That is, before you know you’ve got it (assuming that the infected are isolated). Footballers are no exception. Playing with others risks spread. This is why ‘generalised’ minimal contact is being encouraged. In Italy’s case this has become NO contact. Where you stand on just letting the virus run, or trying to slow and flatten, is a personal thing. I suspect if you’re 80 years old and prone to bronchitis, letting it run is less desirable.

At some stage a player will contract the virus and the season will be halted. The best chance of getting a legitimate season in, is if they start before this happens and hope they have enough time to squeeze in the remaining games if the season can be restarted. Like others have pointed out, These guys are already gathering together for training. I don't see that playing matches in empty stadiums increases the risk of disease transmission.

Class. How do you propose removing these healthy athletes from society so as not to put at risk groups at risk? I repeat, how do elite athletes playing football at a closed stadium put at risk people at greater risk? Football clubs would be close to the safest place to be during a viral outbreak. The greatest risk to the elite athletes probably comes from their children coming home from school, and yet there is no ban yet on schools. I note that several private schools have closed. I see no connection between elite football at closed stadiums and an increased risk to your family and friends. PS: Washing your shopping is more important than cancelling footy.

I think the players should take some sort of pay cut for the duration. As should the AFL executives. If this season is going to go ahead in it's mooted form, All AFL people will need to make some sacrifices, as the State leagues have already had to.

Because those healthy players can still be carriers and pass it on to other people who are vulnerable. You can carry it without showing symptoms.

How many elite athletes worldwide have died from Covid19? Who exactly is at risk? If it is the players, they have voted to play. Chicken Little's are everywhere. NB. It seems ok to send our children to school but not for elite athletes to play footy!

Problem is they’ve set the deadline for the decision to be Tuesday, clock is ticking. I really really want them to get round one out because at least that’s something before we get into lockdown but I just have this feeling in my gut that they will postpone it.

Well said Sir. Sport does not sit outside Society it is part of it. The AFL are fools if they think they can beat the system’s in place. A tough contact sport where germs can easily travel Don’t do it AFL

Keyboard coaches! Kick it long, straight up the middle, stop messing around with it, don't kick across goal, man up, tackle don't coral, man on man, you do realise the game evolves? Floods, zones, press, clusters, paddocks, slingshots, handball at all costs are styles of play that challenge the old 18 players in position play. Lever is an intercepting defender, he is good at it, it is a roll that our coaches seem to like. I doubt that you have coached at AFL level so I choose to not value your opinion as much as our coaches. Do you know how zones work?

I'd like to see them play the first couple of rounds (at least) to empty stadiums, and then take a 7 week break (the 5 dropped rounds and 2 weeks of the "bye" no longer required) and then, if the situation has settled enough, play the remaining rounds. The AFL has said they could extend the season if necessary, so there might be room to make that break 9 or 10 weeks.

just found this a live virus meter for some facts https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

On a broader scale nearly all big sport worldwide has been shut down ... playing in front of empty stadiums is not even an option for sporting bodies around the globe. Anyway, we could go back and forth forever on this issue. Lets agree to disagree.

So if that is the case then the pandemic will run its course. Playing football or not will have little or no effect.

I agree, playing games with all the monitoring and control is a resonable and sensible way forward. It seems the players and AFL agree. Of course option 1 would be nice, but that seems the most unlikely. It’s either start playing and see how it goes or fold 2020

If the solution is total isolation then by all means stop the footy. But selected isolation is not isolation.

Players can have the virus but not show any visible signs of having the virus. And the virus is highly contageous as we all know. And it's a contact sport (footy) with a lot of congestion. It's not a stretch to state that an undetected player can pass the disease on to another unsuspecting player who can then pass the virus on to family members (which can include grandparents and the like) High risk in my opinion. The sensible move would be to delay the start of the season until it's safe (or safer) to proceed. The government could also step in and decree that contact sport (or any sport) needs to be shut down. Or at least, sporting bodies could be advised as such. A lot of minor sport has been put on hold for the reasons outlined above

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-information-on-social-distancing Read the above post from Dr Larkins. Then read the information sheet here. I'm not sure what "elite athletes" has to do with anything, so not sure why you keep bringing that up, it's about minimizing risk (not sure how many times that needs to be said). This has been explained to you numerous times now, so I see no point in engaging with you further if you're not actually willing to engage rather than just repeat your irrelevant and ill-informed points ad nauseam. Cheers.

Nowhere did I say that, and frankly trying to stretch or misrepresent what people have said is a pretty pathetic way to interact. I'm about minimizing risk. I have many relatives and friends who are at high risk with covid-19 and risking their lives for something as comparatively trivial as footy is not something I'm willing to do. Playing footy isn't an essential component of life currently.

I read the Crows are live-streaming their training session this morning. I like it, even if the season doesn’t go ahead it could be a pleasant distraction to some. If it does go ahead it gives their fans a chance to see how the team is preparing for R1.

No. But whose life are you talking about. You realise that people can die playing sport. Do you subscribe to banning all activiies in which someone may die?

I've realised now one of the really valuable aspects of an internet forum founded on the basis of mutual random support for a football team is that it exposes one to the world outside of their normal social circles and media echo chambers. Scary stuff.

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Hey od, if you can stick fat with the Dees for 60+ years, you have the endurance to weather any storm. Best wishes mate!

Hey Old Dee we may all end up a bit hermit like but always something here to put a smile on the dial. Hope you are ok.

NBA style lottery, bottom 10 on the ladder, then a separate lottery for 11-18 for the top 8

Melbourne to win the first five game and then the season to be cancelled. You know it will happen.