AFL, in a fix, taking it one week at a time
The AFL will take it one week at a time with the fixture.
The league will only release details of the remaining fixture in weekly instalments and not in a block of rounds due to the moving feast of state border restrictions and COVID-19 quarantine rules.
Teams are unlikely to know who they will play more than a week or two ahead, which will cause difficulties for forward scouting and planning but is an unavoidable consequence of the constantly changing shape of state rules.
One round at a time: AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan.Credit:Getty Images
The AFL released rounds 9-12 together, but the escalating complexity of the fixture means they are likely to stick to only one round at a time for the remaining rounds.
The league also continues to explore contingencies for the high likelihood of Melbourne being unable to host any finals or the grand final.
The AFL is yet to rule out the MCG for the grand final, but with Melbourne in stage four lockdown it is doubtful the restrictions would change so rapidly as to allow football at the MCG for the decider.
If the mandatory two-week quarantine period imposed by the WA government remains in place it means either all finals, including the grand final, would be held in Perth or no finals would be likely to be held there.
The AFL on Tuesday announced it had moved the second of the Tasmanian games – the round 12 North Melbourne-Brisbane Lions clash – from Hobart to the Gold Coast because of changes to border restrictions by the Tasmanian government.
The rolling one-week fixtures will enable the league to respond to changes by state governments on border controls.
The AFL is also trying to fixture games in Cairns as they juggle the complex web of teams that have not played one another and the various state controls while trying to satisfy contractual arrangements such as honouring commitments to play games in Hobart and Launceston.
In other changes announced by the AFL on Tuesday, the start time of the round 11 Adelaide Collingwood game has been brought forward 30 minutes to enable Collingwood to fly out that night to return to Queensland after the match.
And the St Kilda-Geelong game is now a Saints' home game. That change primarily affects signage rights at the ground.