Diamond_Jim

posted in wrong thread

I get the feeling that testing for this virus is becoming easier and we will see mass testing in the not too distant future. I watch a few youtubers from China and the number of"nucleic acid tests" they are doing to monitor new outbreaks is phenomenal. So would you agree to a regime that requires testing say every seven days (it's a swab stuck down the back of your throat) and in return you get a card that says you can go out and about. As I understand this is stage 2... you still have to go through the lock down process to slow the existing contagion and then you gradually let people out under the testing regime. I left Australia on 19 January which was the weekend that the story really broke but it's now just over two months later and China is coming out the other side. (Mind you if they are lying we are in trouble). Just seems that in Oz we are more into panic than dealing with the central issue and getting a path to the other side.

it's not that big a plot....maybe 50million but it's no goldmine and Docklands isn't Collins Street plus there are already masses of unoccupied apartments down there. And of course there are the planning restrictions

except that Bennell will also need five or six practice games before he is selected (unless we are repeating 2019) so I can't see him getting a clear run. You could be right though. As I see it the season cannot start before June 1 and it is hard to see more than a 12 game season plus four weeks of finals. MCC will be pressured to make the ground available for the T20 world cup (starting 18 October) even though it would make more money out of a delayed finals series etc. I assume all the other big interstate grounds are contracted to provide space for the T 20 so there is a mega full stop to the season come October. You could probably get a few more games in by playing all finals at Docklands and having 5 day turnarounds etc. The TV companies may not like the idea of too much football. After all they have to sell more advertising and the likes of Foxtel make their money by monthly subs not by the game so more games does not necessarily increase their bottom line revenue. Strange times all round

for this year only

and he is out of contract thus available to anyone

The Northern Blues or to give them their historic name Preston were along with Port Melbourne the absolute power houses of the VFA. They were trailblazers in the world of televised sport and for a while during the seventies rivalled the lesser VFL teams attendance wise. The end of a club that has been in existence since 1882. Some harsh lessons there

Carlton just announced the end of its alignment with the Northern Blues due to cuts in the soft salary cap. (reported in the Age) Not sure if it is permanent but the Casey relationship could be under pressure as could the whole VFL comp in the years to come. PS we knew that there were problems with the AFL website but still showing the countdown clock for this weekend's matches is a little strange !!

Carlton have spent 23 years in the relative wilderness. I think they have learnt humility like us. As for the rest of the power clubs which do you suggest. Deep down you know it makes sense. We just struggle from one debt laden crisis to another while the power clubs march on. Alternatively we could just join the amateurs or similar. You'd still have your club.

In a way that is why I picked them.It would be two stubborn beasts. Time that Carlton moved on from the Elliot years. Of the power clubs they are probably the most vulnerable. The Melbourne Blues also has a certain MFC ring to it

6 teams in Melbourne would mean that each is on a solid financial footing. Whether the GCS end up in Tasssie is a side issue.We all know that Melbourne cannot support ten teams.(Cannot think of another first tier sport anywhere in the world that has ten teams in a city.) So who would you pick as your dance partner. I think for us Carlton as it could be a meeting of relative equals.Geelong and the Bulldogs is a natural. Saints and North...???? The only team which is debatable is GWS. I think there is a future for them between Western Sydney and the ACT.

mmmmm I smell a small rat. The AFL commission have wanted mergers of Melbourne clubs for years. Fan backlash has made it too hard. This could be the excuse they need

As I understand it the football year runs from October to October and players have been paid 6months of their annual fee. The new salary year will commence in October by which time things should be "normal". So in reality they are being asked to take a somewhere between a 25-35% cut on their annual salary. The real debate is over the salary level for the 2020-21 year and who knows ???

as a stadium it is very hard to value. The original developers went broke and the AFL got it for one dollar in return for agreeing to play there for around 20 years. So it's chicken and egg...without the AFL it has little if any value so as a lender how do you rate it as a security. Land value?? Would a government allow you to demolish it. In the 80's some clubs borrowed against their grandstands etc. The banks realised it was a bit of a myth that they had any security

The other elephant in the room is memberships. While many may see it as a donation the fact remains that people have paid for a service that will not be delivered and it is their choice not the club's as to whether a refund is sought. Is there any different approach to say an MCC or AFL membership to that of a club membership. Do you consider the reserved seat fee differently and the list goes on. I was considering cancelling Kayo this morning as there is simply no live sport available. I decided to wait and see if they cut the monthly sub by say half and I could support that business in that way. Lots of decisions to be made.

You would hope that Burgess and a small team are kept on to maintain player fitness by means of digital supervision

I think we can all say goodbye to the annual Shanghai Sling for the foreseeable future.

no complaints then about short turn arounds. It was of course a night comp and it was the only fully televised game each week. It wasn't a Mickey Mouse comp.

It wouldn't be the AFL who made the decision. It would be the big ten. Not saying it will happen but you can bet that someone is gaming the figures and when they realise that the broadcast rights pie will stagnate if not get smaller next time round all bets are off.

St Kilda etc as well as ourselves could well be in the firing line. Ten maybe 12 team superleague and those ten/12 would do very well thank you. Ten teams in Melbourne has always been impossible as the size of the pie stagnates.

The strangest thing about the US federal elections is that they are organised by the Sates individually. Could be real chaos as differently coloured States (Red and Blue) go different ways. Cannot understand why they haven't moved to a Federal election commission like we have. They are indeed a strange country sometimes.

Trump will be measured at the polls just like Morrison should be. This why we elect national leaders.

The populations of three of our states/territories are smaller than many local councils. Seven (or is eight) leaders... seven systems.... chaos when you want order

There's something not quite right about individual States making decisions on close downs etc. These are the decisions that should be made by National governments with regard to local conditions. I realise that health is a Sate matter but sometimes problems should be managed on a national if not international basis.

The payout for the stadium owner on the GC could be large if the Suns do cease to exist. Would not be surprised if the contract is guaranteed by the AFL. My guess is that it is all up to the TV rights holders. The AFL will play a season even if they have to play it all in January next year simply because they must have the money from the TV companies. If the TV companies say no then the AFL is in trouble.