Demonland

I'm using a plastic cup with the 80s Demons logo on it that may have a crack and leaks water that is probably not potable.

Nine’s Peter Ryan reported Melbourne was told it should play an intra-club because it would not be forced to play midweek.

Cynically because Saad is a best 22 player and James Stewart is not.

Was this ever a realistic possibility?

Officially a farce. James Stewart is a forward. Wasn't he training with the backline?

Here is the current injury list based on last weeks list and no announced injuries yet from the scratch match. PLAYER INJURY LENGTH Braydon Preuss Achilles 2-3 Weeks Marty Hore Toe 4-6 Weeks Harry Petty Groin Indefinite Kade Kolodjashnij Head Indefinite Aaron Nietschke Knee Season

Shocked that Robbo, an Essendon fan, would take this position.

You could have a point there. They would at least need to quarantine for a certain period of time to ensure a negative result. There is so much uncertainty regarding the incubation period. Throw in McKenna's negatives, then his irregularity and then his positive.

I actually don't think there is any training scenario that is better or worse. If it gets into the club then there are serious ramifications for that club and potentially another club (if there is gameday contamination) and then potentially the whole league and season. Essendon will be extremely lucky if McKenna is the only infected. Having said that the fact that one player has it and trained with others means they too need to quarantine for 2 weeks just like the rest of society is expected to.

The current plan seems to be attempting to make the situation fair for Essendon and therefore (unintentionally) making it unfair for us. Why should we be disadvantaged by their mistake.

In fact here are the stats for 2020. I've kindly asked for stats for 2018 and 2019. Will report back if I get an answer.

Do we know if those players (and presumably some staff [footy and admin]) who came into contact with McKenna are isolating right now? What about the people that the other players in the group of 8 subsequently were in contact with? Are they isolating? And the people they came into contact with? Flow on effect is huge.

I guess it depends on the results (and in turn the accuracy) of the tests this close to the contact period. The AFL will have egg on their face if one of the 8 play and then are later diagnosed as positive. Can you imagine 2 of the Big 4 are sidelined for a fortnight?

Agreed. Can you imagine if this weeks game had gone ahead with an infectious McKenna playing? Our whole team would have to have quarantined for 2 weeks or more derailing our year and plunging us further into financial choas.

Essendon cannot complain about playing without their backline. Essendon face the prospect of playing AFL matches with a severely weakened team due to coronavirus, but their situation is not likely to be as dramatic as that faced by FC Rostov in the Russian Premier League last weekend. Six Rostov players tested positive to COVID-19 as the league restarted following a coronavirus-imposed shutdown, meaning the entire senior team – including reserves and back-up players – had to quarantine. Forty-two players were ruled out, in all. With Rostov due to play Sochi,league officials offered to cancel the game. But Sochi – battling relegation – refused, insisting that Rostov, who were in fourth place, fulfil the fixture. Rostov, a port city in the River Don, had little option but to field their under-17 youth team – none of whom were professionals. The youngsters stunned Russian fans by taking the lead in the first minute with a goal from Roman Romanov – a strike, it might be said, which threatened to have a revolutionary impact. But their joy was short-lived as Sochi brutally imposed normality on proceedings, eventually going on to win 10-1 – a win that will help their battle against relegation no end.

I'm not calling for the 4 points as a freebie. I just think it is unfair for us to penalised with shorter breaks between games which potentially will impact us across 3 (or more) matches. Match prior to the rescheduled Essendon match, the rescheduled Essendon match and the match (even matches) after the rescheduled Essendon match. We'll have to adjust loads during matches and training. How can that not have an impact on us when other teams won't have that same issue. I don't care about the impact on Essendon as they are the ones who are responsible. I'm not even proposing to play a depleted Essendon this week or mid week as a further Freebie (we all know how we fair against depleted Essendon teams). If a team can't field a team then they forfeit. Case closed.