The AFL is getting creative. Here's every option to complete the 2020 seasonApril 1, 2020
Tom Morris
FOX SPORTSThat's the motto the AFL is taking into all of its meetings with clubs and other key stakeholders as it tries to navigate unprecedented waters.
The only option that is categorically off the table is a Christmas Day Grand Final.
There is an acceptance at clubs and among players that to recoup valuable finances they will need to be nimble, understanding and open-minded. To start by saying 'yes' rather than 'no'.
The AFL has set May 31 as its target return date, but key industry figures believe this remains highly unlikely as the coronavirus spreads.
League CEO Gillon McLachlan forecast a 40-week window to play 17 games per team and host a finals series. But as the year progresses from winter into spring, finding grounds present a significant challenge.
According to AFL stats analysis site HPNFooty, the last possible date for a conventional season to begin is Friday August 14. If nine games are played from Friday to Sunday every week from then on, the Grand Final would be due for Boxing Day.
But a “roundless” season in which clubs play three games every 14 days on average could start as late as September 10.
And if the AFL gets desperate, Round 2 could be played on September 21 and each team would have 4-6 day breaks between games.
The latest the 2020 season could realistically start is mid-October, though the later it gets pushed back, the further larger list sizes and other provisions will need to be considered.
Here is a list of possible scenarios the AFL will consider over the next few months.
FOOTY EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEKIf footy goes ahead, you can pretty much lock this in. The AFL Players’ Association is open to four-day breaks, which is a significant relaxation on policy given no club had more than one five-day break scheduled this season.
It might last for two weeks as a bonanza or it we might see more than a month of footy on most nights. Either way, the best way to condense 144 matches into a shortened period is to play more regularly. Remember across Easter and Anzac Day last year we saw games played on 10 out of 11 days.
List sizes, game length, rotations and other provisions will need to be considered.
MCG GRAND FINAL?An MCG Grand Final remains a possibility before October 10 but any later is dependent on the International Cricket Council, which is unlikely to be sympathetic to cricket.
If the T20 World Cup is postponed or cancelled due to travel restrictions, the MCG could become available again in a critical October-November window.
If the T20 World Cup goes ahead, the league would need to negotiate a way to host football there in December around Sheffield Shield cricket and the Boxing Day Test. BBL is not played at the MCG until January due to the December 26-30 Test match.
HOME TEAM GRAND FINAL?Imagine if the AFL decided to award the highest ranked Grand Final team with a home state decider.
There would be a great deal of uncertainty and it would probably require deep negotiations with Cricket Australia with the SCG, Optus Stadium, Gabba and Adelaide Oval all cricket grounds in the summer.
TWO DIVISIONSIf time gets tight and 17 rounds becomes logistically impossible, the AFL could split the competition into two conferences.
Clubs would play every other team in their division before an extended finals series.
The AFL would need to decide whether to effectively render Round 1 irrelevant or to just group teams with their opponents from the opening weekend and have those points count towards their conference table.
This outcome would be a seismic shift in the football landscape, but some footy is better than no footy. Nobody is ruling this option out.
TRAVELLING TEAMS TO REMAIN ON THE ROADTo limit interstate travel the AFL could easily fixture Fremantle – for example – to play three games across nine days in Victoria.
The same could apply to a Melbourne-based team on the road in South Australia. A Friday night match against the Crows could be followed by a Tuesday evening encounter against Port Power.
DOUBLE-HEADERS IN SAME STADIUMThis scenario is made possible for two reasons. The first is that with no crowds, the logistics are simpler for security purposes. A 2.10pm bounce could quite easily be followed by a 7.30 start.
The second reason concerns the league’s purchase of Marvel Stadium, which would allow them to play an unlimited number of matches at the venue if needed.
MARVEL STADIUM GRAND FINALCricket Australia and the BBL might play hard ball, but McLachlan is a shrewd negotiator and if the season starts late, a Docklands Grand Final appears the most likely scenario. The biggest home and away crowd at Marvel Stadium was 54,444 in 2009, which is just over half the MCG’s capacity.
The AFL paid $200 million for the stadium for a variety of reasons. This is precisely one of them.
WILDCARD FINALS SERIESA wildcard finals series, which has long been discussed as an option to follow Round 23, would require spare time, which the AFL is unlikely to have at its disposal. Club officials believe a wildcard or playoff weekend is more likely in 2021.
BEST OF THREE GRAND FINAL SERIES"I don't know if we're ready for it yet, but if there's ever going to be a time to try it, now would be it,” said Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury.
Like a wildcard finals system, the AFL would need time to complete a best of three series – probably three weeks. The Sydney Swans pushed for a change in format in late 2018 to give interstate teams more opportunity. Don Pyke had raised the possibility a year earlier after Adelaide lost to Richmond at the MCG.
Other Australian domestic competitions such as the National Basketball League use a best of three Grand Final series to determine the champions.
BEST POSSIBLE CASEFootball returns in early June, 17 home and away games are played and then four weeks of finals culminating in a decider at the MCG.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-news-2020-how-the-afl-season-could-play-out-coronavirus-updates-gillon-mclachlan-marvel-stadium/news-story/cda47c1da774380d48bc7ab5c2ef7363
