AFL shuts down 2020 season indefinitely (Fox)

[WilliamPowell]

AFL clubs hope to have membership options within a fortnight
Peter Ryan

March 26, 2020 — 10.26am

AFL clubs hope to be able to give their members a range of options to consider in the next fortnight as they scramble to make suitable arrangements for supporters in an interrupted season.

Club CEOs including Carlton's Cain Liddle and Richmond's Brendon Gale have been working together to create a uniform position across the 18 clubs with the clubs agreeing early in the piece that it would be not help anyone if wealthier clubs used their financial position to make offers to members that other clubs couldn't match.

The working group is understood to be considering offering members options such as credits on future memberships, converting memberships into tax deductible donations, as well as offering refunds where needed although nothing has been finalised as yet.

With the game suspended until at least May 31 (although few expect it to return that early) and a new fixture to be developed if the season does get underway, significant uncertainty remains as to what lies ahead with AFL CEO Gill McLachlan saying he is prepared for the season to extend until the end of the year to ensure the remaining 144 games plus finals are played.

Geelong CEO Brian Cook told a KRock podcast that the Cats had been overwhelmed with support from members as the industry dealt with the myriad of decisions required after the game was cancelled due to government restrictions in place to control the spread of the coronavirus.

"We’ve been working towards a common strategy for all clubs, and it will involve, eventually, several options for their members to consider," Cook said.

Cook expected club members would have about five options to consider once clubs and the AFL had approved the approach with the veteran CEO also anticipating it would need the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's tick of approval.

"I’m expecting [in] about a week or so, we’ll be able to go out to members and say, 'Look, here is our offer'," Cook said.

The AFL said at their season launch that one in 24 Australians are members of clubs. The range of membership options provided by clubs are enormous, ranging from three-game memberships to digital memberships, season ticket holders, reserve seats, season ticket holders and corporate packages or social club memberships.

Membership has been one of the game's biggest growth areas with club bosses describing members as the "lifeblood" of clubs before the coronavirus crisis.

Club officials have been heartened by the response of members with more people happy to leave their money with the club at this stage than wanting refunds. All clubs have had people buy memberships since the season cancelled too.

However they are also conscious there are many people, like clubs, who have suddenly been hit with significant financial troubles as jobs disappear so they are attempting to work out a suitable solution.

It's unclear at this stage what approach will be taken with AFL members.


https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-clubs-hope-to-have-membership-options-within-a-fortnight-20200326-p54e11.html

[Andyy]

Credit for 2021 is fine

[Francois Jackson]

what i want to know is what are the afl doing with their memberships that we have paid for?

Those scumbags arent getting one cent from me. Club is a different discussion, but the afl screw them.

[WilliamPowell]

Just so people are aware

Another way we can support the club is via merch sales if folks can afford it

The online shop is open for business and offering free shipping

[Diocletian]

The media almost unanimously pushing for this shorter quarters(i.e. longer ad breaks) bollocks to be introduced permanently...stuff me drunk they really are all just a bunch of toadying AFL shills....but anyone with even half a clue already knew that...

Hope Fatchison and his crockofshytemedia empire goes under too....

[one-eyed]

Players have accepted a 50% pay cut for the next 8 weeks and will accept further cuts if needed.

Source: Tom Browne Ch 7 news.

[one-eyed]

Footy shutdown will cause "mental struggle" for AFL players: Murray

By Sammy Edmund
SEN
27 March 2020

High-performance mind coach Emma Murray has warned the AFL shutdown will hit some players hard, forcing them into a “mental struggle”.

Murray, Richmond’s master of mindfulness, is keeping in regular contact with the players, despite falling victim to widespread cost-cutting herself.

While she said the premiers were so far coping well, Murray is conscious of the different personalities and different levels of job security amongst the playing group over the longer term.

“I can’t speak for other clubs, but Richmond has done a lot of work in this space, so they’ve got a lot of tools to process things like this and they have the ability to shift their perspective,” Murray said.

“But you’re going to see different approaches. Some are going to get really busy because they’re such physical people and they’ll start renovating houses and doing their gardens. We’re seeing a lot of that because they need to be active and to expend energy.

“Then you’ll see others stop for the first time and think ‘What does it look like for me after football?’ and ‘What am I going to do and how am I going to do it?’

“It brings a reality of ‘this could all be over’. Some careers are going to be cut short by this.

“So far they are coping well. But I think we’ll see people coming to the end of their contracts or that middle tier of player who has been around for a couple of years, they haven’t quite cracked it, and this was the big year to break in. That’s where we’re going to see the mental struggle emerge.

“I would encourage them to get out of that story because that’s out of their control and to use the time to come back bigger, stronger, better.

“A break like this can hit them in the face.”

Murray started working with RRichmond players individually in 2016 before she was employed as part of the football program in 2017. Several Tigers have credited her for the growth of their careers.

“When this all started, I went into the club every day just to be there and once we were told on Sunday not to come in, I’ve started checking in on them a lot,” she said.

“That’s the Richmond way and I’m not the only one doing that. That’s how we go about it, it’s about connection and people and it’s deeper than just a job and that’s where our success has come from.”

Murray said she was telling players “you don’t need to have it all sorted tomorrow” and to expect disorientation after being snapped out of a heavily structured environment.

“That’s what every person around the world who is working from home is struggling with. Their routine has been ripped from them,” Murray said.

“The AFL world is governed by schedule. It’s drilled into them to be on time, do what they’re told and where to be every minute of the day. Without that, you’re going to see some guys cope well and others really struggle with it.

“Normally, the boys connect instinctively and keep each other on track, but not being able to see each other, it’s a bit like, ‘How do we do it now?’

“This is a different generation with different mental challenges.”

Murray is also eager to help the wider population through this time. She will provide tips and visualisations she used with elite athletes via her Instagram account, em.murray.1.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/03/27/footy-shutdown-will-cause-mental-struggle-for-afl-players-murray/

[one-eyed]

Bank loan to 'save' football will be sealed within 24 hours.

Secured by Marvel Stadium.

Source: Ch 7 news.

[Hard Roar Tiger]

What happened to the future fund?

[Tigeritis™©®]

The media almost unanimously pushing for this shorter quarters(i.e. longer ad breaks) bollocks to be introduced permanently...stuff me drunk they really are all just a bunch of toadying AFL shills....but anyone with even half a clue already knew that...

Hope Fatchison and his crockofshytemedia empire goes under too....

Fatchison. 

[one-eyed]

What happens when the lights go back on?

Peter Ryan
The Age
28 March 2020

The financial tsunami that swamped football when matches were cancelled to help stop the spread of the coronavirus will make the game vastly different to the one we imagined just a month ago.

We have already had a taste of it during a ghostly round one with shorter quarters and no crowds.

At some point, however, the game will return and eventually the crowds will stream in too. But other parts of the game will shrink, potentially creating a completely different experience to what we’ve been watching in the past decade.

One comment from Geelong coach Chris Scott on radio SEN summed up what lies ahead for football. ‘‘We need to prepare for a different environment in the seasons that come but it is just so hard to forecast exactly what the changes are going to be. We are going to have to ask for more from fewer people and to play our role in society,’’ Scott said.

What will the competition look like when the lights go back on?

WILL 18 CLUBS SURVIVE?

As soon as the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis became clear, maintaining an 18-club competition has been the AFL’s objective, with clubs directed to cut costs and work collaboratively to make this happen. Throughout football’s depression the AFL’s philosophy has been to shred staff and costs rather than clubs, prioritising the survival of each club – including Gold Coast and the GWS – so that when football resumes nine games will be played per round as per the broadcast agreement. Whether that remains the approach down the track no one knows but the AFL remains steadfast in wanting an 18-club competition.

WHO WILL LOSE MOST?

Football departments will never be the same again with assistant coaches, data analysts and recruiting experts to feel the hit the hardest. Already forced to shave $1 million off their budgets for 2020 there will be $3 million less around in 2021 when the soft cap sits at $6.7 million a club. Some clubs had a dozen coaches and recruiting teams of at least four. Expect that figure to be halved with all coaches needing to, as one AFL source said, ‘‘play tall and small’’ to flourish in the future. The AFL won’t mind because there has been a view that clubs employed too many coaches anyway, stifling the game. However the effect on individuals will be very real as they look to find new careers in other parts of football clubs or outside the industry. The level of statistical analysis from organisations such as Champion Data will also be reviewed.

WHAT ABOUT PLAYERS?

In the short term, cloth has been cut to accommodate the new reality as the AFL strikes an interim deal with the players to ride out the economic storm. The expected TPP per club of $13,013,257 for 2020 is now a distant dream and no one knows for certain what a club’s TPP will look like in 2021 and beyond with no visibility on when the game resumes. Very few list managers expect list sizes to remain the same however, with most anticipating list numbers, that currently sit between 40 and 44 (Gold Coast have a list of 51 in 2020), will reduce to 35 per club. Yesterday, conversations began between the AFL and clubs to determine how existing contracts will be handled with player agents believing every option between retaining the status quo to renegotiating all contracts under a revised CBA were being considered.

HOW MANY GAMES WILL WE GET?

As time ticks by, the prospect of playing 144 plus finals becomes increasingly uncertain. However, AFL planning – shorter games and the flagging of consecutive games being played with fewer days break in between – has occurred to give them maximum flexibility to complete that schedule before the new year. Double-headers, back-to-back games on the road, five-day breaks and games played every night of the week are all possibilities. Ground availability will not stop the season as the television dollars remain the most critical revenue source rather than selling out the MCG, which is unavailable from mid-October until late November due to cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup. The AFL will want to please broadcasters so an expanded finals series and a night grand final are possibilities depending on the time available. In 2021, a 22-round season will be maintained.

HOW WILL GAMES CHANGE?

Quarters of 16 minutes plus time-on will make games tighter late and keep the stars on the ground longer. Nat Fyfe was on the ground for the entire last quarter in the round-one clash with Essendon. Shorter breaks between games will see clubs rotate players to keep them fresh and match fit with form not being the only criteria for selection. The players will push for more interchange rotations and flexibility but the AFL has held firm on that. Fewer coaches will also probably lead to freer scoring.

THE AFLW?

Some might view the AFLW as a luxury item but there has been sponsorship interest and positive cultural change as a result of the competition. Expansion beyond the 14 teams appears unlikely for the time being.

STATE LEAGUES?

No one knows what structure will be in place for the second-tier competition in 2021. Many consider it more likely in 2020 that a series of practice matches would be played to support the AFL squads rather than resuming the postponed VFL season.

WILL THE GAME SURVIVE FINANCIALLY?

Clubs and the AFL will be in debt for the foreseeable future as they open a line of credit close to $600million. The positive side has been the reaction of individuals within the game as people worked together at a time of the year when they would otherwise be in fierce battle and the AFL looked to support the mental health and wellbeing of players and staff at clubs hit by the shock of stand downs and economic uncertainty.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/what-happens-when-the-lights-go-back-on-20200327-p54emo.html

[Rampsation]

The competition would gett stonger if North St Kilda Melbourne and Gold Coast leave the competion

[Hard Roar Tiger]

The competition would gett stonger if North St Kilda Melbourne and Gold Coast leave the competion

Merge the Dees and Norf, pee GWS off and move the Saints to Tassie

[Diocletian]

The list reductions are going to be harsh if they settle on 35...that's 9 players that will need to be cut plus the ones to make room for draftees if the draft goes ahead and that's before you even get to trades...likes of McIntosh, Chol, Miller, Aarts, Garthwaite will no doubt be sent packing but we're probably also going to see kids like RCD, Eggmolese-Smith, Biggie, Ralphsmith and possibly even Ross & Dow all get the arse....

[Tigeritis™©®]

RCD is lazy I’ve seen his type for years. Unless something clicks he will never make it to the next level.

Actually the only one i would be keen to keep from that list would be Ross.