Pates

Exactly, that's advice they are taking right now that the virus is not at it's worst so better to try to get games in now while they can than delay and have uncertainty on when/if the season will start. Stating the bleeding obvious but it makes early wins absolutely massively important!

Probably an unpopular opinion, BUT if the season were to be pushed back enough that the MCG wasn't available for the Grand Final then I think this is a rare instance where it should be then played at the largest home ground of the highest finishing winner of the qualifying/preliminary finals. Meaning (for example) last years Grand Final would be played at either the SCG or the Olympic Stadium. Last years would still be at the G, but it would be an interesting opportunity for interstate teams to have the Grand Final. I'm all for tradition, and I firmly believe the Grand Final's traditional home at the MCG should remain. But for these extraordinary circumstances, Marvel Stadium should not be the default next venue in line.

Random question on the shortened quarters, what is that meant to achieve? Is that under the assumption that at some point they will be forced to cram more games into less time so therefor recovery time will be shorter?

All those efforts by the fitness staff to get our boys to a point that no one else could go to. I wonder if they will alter the way they go about things to allow us to go harder in the shorter bursts.

That's something I could definitely get behind, we donate to Demonland to direct the funds towards memberships. The other positive side of it is that it's a figure which is good promotion for the club/sponsors. I was going to look into whether there was a digital membership I could add to my current one.

I wonder whether his lowered immune system that the club would take an ultra cautious approach to him to shield him from the coronavirus. He's up there as one of my favourite players and really is one of the few that has that 6th sense for just knowing where to put it.

They'll be televised. The OP is just suggesting that as crowds won't be in there perhaps we could gain a home ground advantage by playing them at Casey. I like the creative thinking but I went to the game preseason vs Adelaide and you could tell the skills were severely hampered by the windy conditions. As someone else pointed out as well, at least the signage will provide some kind of sponsorship income for the clubs.

I will preface this by saying this is not something I would want but only a suggestion should we get a completely bastardised version of a season. Instead of a proper season we have conferences based off ladder positions from last year so you get 9 teams playing playing a round robin of sorts (perhaps shortened game time and shorter time between matches) then you have conference finals with a grand final between the winners of the conferences (though I would prefer they call it something other than Grand Final). For clarity conference A would be: Geelong, Melbourne, Richmond, Sydney, West Coast, Freo, Bulldogs, Adelaide, Hawthorn Conference B would be: Brisbane, GC, Collingwood, Carlton, GWS, St Kilda, Essendon, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide As a laugh, get Corona beer to sponsor it and call the final the "Corona Bowl" particularly if it's at Marvel Stadium! Just a random idea, and I will say this that conference A would look a hell of a lot harder than conference B!

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.

Can’t imagine there’ll be enough time to get the test confirmed before they have to make a decision. Therefor they’ll have to assume the worst, that the Pies have people infected and they have to call off the first round. Unless they play the rest of the games and postpone the Pies vs Doggies.

The whole premise of sharing the gate year to year is that it’s a fair split between the two parties, if there is no crowd this year then at the absolute minimum it should be negotiated to be 50/50 next year and then it reverts back afterwards.

I can’t see ANZAC eve going ahead with fans should they still be playing games at the point, so either way that one is a loss and the QB from many reports could be right in the middle of the worst of it all so games could be postponed. To that point I would be demanding that next year we get the gate receipts of both games unless they go ahead with fans. I really hope we keep our Alice game but there could well be concerns about spreading the virus up that way and I’d imagine it could be devastating to communities out there for people that are already vulnerable in health.

So first off I think the 17 game season is the only smart choice, secondly if Pendles is in the clear then it actually makes more sense to go ahead with the first round because at least then that is one round of fixtures they can tick off the list. I also think the AFL should reduce the finals series to a top 6 scenario, 3-6 play off in an elimination final at end of H&A, winners play top 2, winners into GF. Total games for the year: 20.

Much of the TV broadcast crew is now remotely controlled and packaged in Melbourne. Wouldn’t even be a lot of TV crew up there.

I believe that’s a monthly instalment, so what they’ve got they’ve got. I hope the leagues big bucks players take a lead from the AFL top brass with pay cuts. Think about how many workers at the clubs will lose their jobs to cut running costs.

Airline bans passenger for life after flying while awaiting test result US airline JetBlue has banned a passenger for life after he flew while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. The man received a positive result while in the air between New York City and Palm Beach, Florida, after not disclosing he had been tested for the virus. This is exactly the sort of stupidity that stopping mass gatherings will help prevent, what an absolute [censored] of a person to put his travel plans above the safety and health of all those people he was travelling with, the flight crew, not to mention all the people he would have come in contact with along the way. He should be charged with public endangerment.

If someone has it and has the ability to upload it to YouTube I would be forever in their debt!

If the AFLPA decide that they don’t want to play, then they should be forfeiting a very large percentage of their wage. Of course a huge part of their job is conditioning and training, but at the end of the day their primary role in the industry is the performers. I’m not saying they should go without but a lot of the rest of the world will be struggling through times with lesser funds, and with the clubs finances going deep into a hole during these uncertain times it’s only fair they make sacrifices as well. Otherwise what guarantees do we even have the clubs will get through this?

So clearly panic has reached people, you only need to look at supermarket shelves and the crazy cues on the news to see it's getting a bit bonkers out there. So if we are forced into lockdown and there's no footy to keep us busy (I won't say happy because that's not what being a Dees fan is about!), let's go through my top 5 Demons related viewing options and I'm keen to hear what others might have. 1. Every Heart Beats True: The Jim Stynes Story Starting with a sad one, this doco is beautiful as it is devastating. Such a loved figure for us Dees fans, this documentary gave us a deeper insight into this beautiful human being. RIP Jimmy 2. Dynamic Demons: 2000 review VHS If you've still got a VHS player maybe it's time to dust it off and relive the last season we made it to the last dance. While Essendon were just such a brutally good team on that day and our boys had clearly given everything they had leading into it, the season itself was so good to watch! 3. Hell and Back: 2020 Pre-season Doco If you haven't watched this yet, get on board! I was sceptical of it when they first released the news they would be doing it, I immediately thought it was going to be all fluff and no substance but credit to the club and the makers they really did a great job. I'd be keen for them to extend the thing leading into the first round following the no fans at the ground announcement and Casey becoming the base of operations. 4. Hotter than Hell: 1998 review VHS Get the VHS player out again and relive The Reverend's first season as coach. I remember this as the first year I went from fan to passionate demon for life, seeing the combination for Farmer, Schwartz, Neitz, and Lyon in the forward line, while Woewodin doing his amazing running goal vs Port, and of course the Wizard's incredible mark against Richmond (how did it not win MOTY?). 5. Full match vs Geelong 2018 Elimination final So much fun to watch us beat the cats after they managed to somehow get the chocolates against us in the H&A season, the sound of the Dees fans overpowering the pussycats gives me happy chills. Remind yourself why you should have hope for 2020.

I'm in the UK and Europe in recent days has taken over as the "epicentre" of this thing now that Italy is in a really bad way. A cousin who lives in Milan has told me it's a bizarre experience to be in this lockdown mode but what people don't seem to be grasping is that lockdown doesn't mean complete quarantine. Public transport is still running, supermarkets are still open, and people still go to work. What is happening is that people are being asked to refrain from being in public areas if it can be helped, so you go to the supermarket and you get your goods for a weekly shop, you go to work only if you have to and if working from home is possible then that's what you do, when you use public transport you try to minimise the close quarters situation. The world will not stop if Australia (or in my case the UK) decides they need to put in the measures Italy has. The "every man for himself" mentality that has pervaded Australia and the world is truly a sad sight, and it's something that has spread because fear generates fear. I would like to think that in times like this people will get around each other, but it seems it only takes a few people being selfish for it to spread to everybody else.

Interesting, to anoint someone as a future captain I would've thought they would need to have runs on the board on the field. While Jake has shown what he can do when fit he needs to be out on the park before he can show his on field leadership capabilities. For me (of the non-Viney sort) I see Gus as someone who could lead us in the future.

Were you one of the ones tooting the horn? ? Bloody ridiculous of them wanting to move you along, exactly what reason could they possibly have? You weren't in the grounds, you weren't interacting with the players. Well done to the cop for having some common sense.

There were a lot of people saying the cricket calendar was very crowded. This gives them a break then!

Disappointing result, we were so clearly the better team at half time. Really should've been in front by 3 more goals but failed to make use of our dominance, our players were exhausted by the end being down two rotations and in the end when we had our chances we butchered them. Puts us back to the pack and outside the finals spot, lots of work to be done.

Game over i'd say. Dees 3.6.24 Blues 6.2.38