Lucifers Hero

That may happen very quickly if the Qld gov't sticks to this line: "The alteration requires that any Queensland or Queensland-based team who plays in Melbourne or against a Melbourne team in Queensland is required to quarantine after the match for 14 days if they are remaining in or returning directly to Queensland". GCS play in Melb for round 5 and 6 and Lions to play in Melb in rnd 6 and they may not be allowed back home. Probably hub in Melbourne. What the AFL cannot juggle is if all the compromises mean some teams have to play another twice and others not at all. Bound to happen. At that point games can no longer be for a premiership, as we know it. The AFL will probably dream up some wanky round-robin games and/or weird finals structure ala the AFLW before it was cancelled outright.

It amuses me that opp coaches and players have for a long time openly flagged how they will/did beat us and we don't seem to notice. Last year Coll, Rich, Brisb openly said 'match them on the inside, beat them on the outside' and they didn't mean our lack of wing men. They meant 'let Oliver, Viney et al get the clearance and we get it off them' in the next disposal, from either HTB or well placed players to take advantage of our poor disposal. Collingwood are merciless at exploiting Viney's no right side and get him HTB then play on. Oliver's dinky, blind handballs go into a pack with an opp waiting on the outside who quickly plays on. WCE, Geelong, Hawks and Sydney use the chip/possession to beat us. Selwood said after the game they deliberately 'ramped up' that side of the game. That is nearly half the league know how to beat us and they use it mercilessly. Works 9 times our of 10. Others are learning the same tricks altho not used as consistently. In the meantime, we do not respond on the field and our coach makes banal comments like when we click 'look out'.

I would say Viney and Oliver have the same limitation. At least Brayshaw can find space and kicks goals occasionally. Not enough goals but more than some others. And has better disposal again not great disposal but better Oliver and Viney. There is no obvious reason why Brayshaw spends 30-35% of the game on the bench for all of our 2020 games.

Better get ready tochange the heading. We are likely to play Richmond next week as Qld gov't won't let Rich in due to the Victorian covid spike. richmond-west-coast-clash-in-doubt While, I wouldn't mind a Thursday night FTA game the Rich vs WCE game was scheduled for Thur night. Will be tough for us if we play that time slot on a 4 day break. More likely the Syd vs WCE game gets that time slot and we keep the Sunday aft slot.

The reason Geelong were able to chip the ball around our fwd half is because we don't man the op. This allows them to sprint a few metres into space and take easy, uncontested marks as we are constantly chasing them. It looks like we are playing zone defence in our fwd half. That will never allow enough time to intercept the short chip kick. Geelong (and WCE and Hawks) consistently play that chip/possession game in defence, against us so I was shocked that Goodwin said that next time we come against that style of team, we will be ready. Hello! They have been doing it for years. Who does our opposition analysis? And what about counter-tactics? The frustrating thing is we let them do it all day. The coach didn't change tactics.

A few weeks ago after some players broke the covid rules and Connor McKenna tested positive, I questioned whether the Qld gov't would allow AFL players in without 14 day quarantining and specifically Rich for round 5 game vs WCE. With the covid spikes in Victoria. It is looking increasingly unlikely as Rich vs WCE in doubt. Another game postponed? That bye for 'catch-up' games is looking increasingly likely. And once Brisb and GCS leave Qld to play in Victoria will they then need to quarantine before returning home? Who knows. Anyone's guess as to whether the season is ever finished. Update: Round 5 fixture changes: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-west-coast-clash-in-doubt-20200629-p5574q.html We most likely play Richmond next week!

Good report, thanks. I thought the off-season (Sept to March) is when to experiment with structures. Worrying that we are experimenting 'for a period of time' because that affects so many other things like ball movement from the midfield, running patterns for forwards, etc. The coach talks about cohesion/connection with forwards. If we are still experimenting it is no wonder we can't get that cohesion and connection. I wonder how many games 'a period of time' is. The season will be half gone and we will still be experimenting. The more the season goes on the less hope I have for us making finals.

Barlett's letter has a significant line: "We want to avoid having to seek additional financial support from the AFL, and therefore, become an “assisted club”. This will ensure we are able to independently make key strategic decisions..." Until now 7 clubs have opted to be 'unassisted': WCE, Adelaide, Richmond, Hawthorn, Bulldogs, Pies and Ess via using cash reserves or borrowing. I would hardly put us in that category ie the so-called, 'rich' clubs. The Age reports a consideration for AFL assistance is "...clubs have to show they have exhausted cash reserves, or even the potential to borrow, before they can access the AFL loan". AFL Assistance Will any club qualify for assistance on that criteria? As we had some $7m in Financial Investments (as at 30/10/2019) and a valuable asset in the Bentleigh club to borrow against, we may be ineligible for the AFL funding program. Tough if that is the case as we are one of the poorest clubs in finances and facilities. Or have we chosen to not participate thereby avoiding AFL scrutiny of every penny we spend?. If being 'unasissted' was our choice I would like to understand why we feel our finances will hold up given our falling memberships, 2019 loss etc. If it was 'imposed' by the AFL I am worried that we will come out of this poorer by using up the remaining Leighoak cash and mortgaging the Bentleigh club. Good question for Bartlett next week.

As Brayshaw played all of the interclub match in the 'white' shorts while the selected team played at least half of it in the blue shorts, I wouldn't be surprised to see him dropped. Hope I'm wrong

One would think he would have sat out the inter club game last week to manage his game time rather than sit out a really important game vs Geelong this week.

Well done! Some D'landers have been questioning why he has been 'quiet'. Hopefully, they will be now be satisfied.

Home games are important because the Home team sponsors get to put up the signage etc. Also, as I mentioned earlier being the Home team at the G get a special covid-19 payment from the MCC. Of all the G tenants we have the lowest membership by far, so every $ counts for us and our sponsors.

It is a covid-19 special. MCC covid-19 payment Apparently the AFL will do similar with Marvel stadium tenants. Interstate clubs not to happy about it.

It is quite possible that no WA team is in the GF and very possible that east coast fans won't be allowed into WA due to their quarantine requirements. Would rather Sydney than Perth.

Home games at the G are really important as the MCC 'grant' us (and other tenant clubs) $150K to $200K per game we host there. 8/9 Home games at the G equates to about $1.2m to $1.8m; a huge sum this year. As no crowds are allowed there is no reason why we should not get those 8 or 9 Home games. Will be filthy if we lose out to other MCG tenants on the basis of needing to be 'flexible' and 'agile'. Our season has been messed up more than any other and will be moreso if we play 3 games in 9 days to catch up the Ess game. The AFL owe us so I hope our management make very loud noises at AFL house. We should be demanding at least 8 Home games at the G! My MFCSS is preparing me for Rich and Coll saying that if we want the blockbusters to carry over to next year they should get the Home game (and the MCC 'grant') this year.

I read that any i/state teams will need to go into 'hub' style quarantine for 14 days on arriving in WA. During quarantine they play each other as they are banned from playing a WA club in that time. Freo and WCE play each other in that round. After quarantine each i/state team plays Freo and WCE in the two subsequent rounds. Whether the i/state teams stay 2 or 3 weeks depends on the break between games. But I would guess they will be there for close to 3 weeks. This can be repeated until they run out of teams that haven't played each other or a WA team but it may need a bye week if it is repeated in WA. I would be very surprised if there isn't a bye at some stage to allow more hubs or catch-up games. Edit: Confirmation of above - Collingwood and Geelong are expected to be the first clubs to head to a Perth hub for three weeks, playing one another in quarantine and then both WA clubs in front of packed Optus Stadium...The Victorian clubs are expected to be in WA from July 11-August 2. It is unclear whether they will play round six in WA or Victoria. Source: WA Hub

The Age is reporting that: "...the weights session shouldn't be an issue for players potentially contracting COVID-19. According to Essendon, all eight players were socially distanced, wiped gym equipment in between sets and were careful not to complete exercises that would require a teammate to spot them, such as weighted squats or the bench press". Isn't the criteria for indoor 'close contact' being in the same room for 15 minutes? Fair chance that any droplets could easily transfer from McKenna to other players or equipment. And, he only needed to not clean one weight for it to spread to the other seven players in that weight room. If McKenna broke the covid rules outside the club, what confidence is there he followed them inside the club as he has a history of ignoring club rules eg when he went to Ireland for a holiday last year and didn't tell the club. Seriously, how can Ess be believed after the drugs saga. They have a history of lying and 'losing' evidence. They will say anything to save their skins if they didn't follow protocols and if it means quarantining players. Didn't think I could hate them anymore than I did, but I do.

Yes, they want the government to take a 'broad view' in applying the meaning of 'close contact'. But, I just don't see how the Health Department can allow that as Ess train, live and shop right in the middle of the major hot spots of recent outbreaks. Ditto other people in their households. If the incubation period is 1-2 weeks then there is a risk to the wider community and not just other AFL teams. The government must put community concerns before AFL games. The government has already messed up with Cedar Meats, Hotel quarantines, and the BLM rally (a fourth protester has now tested positive). They just can't afford any more risks. Time to take a firm stand and stop pandering to causes/vested interests.

Will round 5 be completed? Rich are scheduled to play WCE in Queensland. Presumably the AFL negotiated an exemption from Qld's 14 day quarantine for AFL teams. But with the fresh outbreaks across Melbourne, Queensland has identified 31 Local Government 'hot spots' in Greater Melbourne. If it gets worse and knowing that covid has hit the AFL will the Qld gov't withdraw the quarantine exemption and Rich can't play WCE? Then round 5 becomes compromised. And the WA government doubling down on its 14 day hotel quarantine requirements even for returning AFL players. So Every chance there will be a 'catch-up' round at some stage with some teams having a bye. That will help bring the season back into sync.

We could have if Ess players were tested on Saturday and cleared by today but no someone decided to test them today instead. Ess buying time!!

Nothing will surprise. The AFL will do anything to help Ess climb the ladder, after all they are a 'big' club and need to be looked after, right. As usual the AFL will mitigate any EFC sins and sweep them under the carpet. If the club has mishandled any of this ie ignored the protocols, surely they should also be penalised.

Unless the Vic Premier, an ardent Ess fan, makes a 'captain's call' claiming 'flexibility' and find a reason for them to not play on. But that would mean virtually jettison the whole competition and given the covid situation in victoria I can't believe he would be that reckless - altho he did roll the dice with Cedar Meats and lost. So who knows when it comes to his football club.

When we play Ess later in the season, if it is on short turnarounds before/after the game we are further disadvantages vs at least one of the other teams we play who will have a longer break. So that potentially is 4 games in which we will be disadvantaged to finish higher up the ladder.

That means rnd 4 Ess v Carlton and then rnd 5 Ess v Coll would go ahead. Whereas our game has been postponed to later in the season. This seems grossly unfair to us as 1) Carl and Coll would play a depleted Ess team whereas we play them when back to full strength. 2) the postponement means playing Geelong next week when they will be more match fit having played to consecutive games after the long break to our one. These 2 things will make it harder for us to finish above Carlton, Coll and Geel. I don't know what the answer is but I feel we get a double penalty. That implicitly annoys me. But also I was looking forward to a season where we had 'no excuses' if we perform poorly. It is no longer a level playing field and we can't afford the appearance of a poor season (memberships, sponsors etc) even if circumstances and lady luck is stacked against us. No one wants excuses, again.

In Thursday's press conf Goodwin was asked about Weideman. He danced around the question a bit but at one point said: "...its different at AFL level, tho". And a few sentences later said something like: "...we are looking for talls to really compete, bring the ball to ground and influence the game..." Not overly encouraging. Nonetheless, my interpretation is that Sam has some things to work on. That Jackson is not in the team this week suggests the spot for a tall forward is still wide open. I reckon Sam will be back. He may not become a star or win a Coleman but if he kicks about 35-40 goals a season and does the competitive things well he will be doing his job.