Footy to Return | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Footy to Return

No need to get shirty. He's just very good at his job and has done well. You not liking it or understanding it is not the same thing as it being bad management.

The AFL doesn't need the money. The clubs, players and employees do. You should be railing against the RFC for wasting money on coaches, facilities and player contracts when we could have been banking revenue for a rainy day. Why keep Dusty when we could have kept the 6 million and stashed it in the bank at 1% interest in case there is a global pandemic?
The club will go broke if there's no season, not the AFL. The AFL has an asset to borrow against (unlike the club) and will bail out the club most likely. So perhaps your frustration is misdirected.

Record memberships
Record home crowds
Record media deals
Apparently the game in a very GOOD state, but a week into the season and they're running for a loan.
That's bad management.
 
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In my view there is absolutely no reason to have a hub of any sort.
Wait a little longer and clubs can resume semi normal small group training and games will restart.
The cross border issue is easily dealt with by testing pre and post travel.
Restrictions are easing now so games and travel can resume shortly.
Wait till July perhaps and play till November.
No need for all the anguish associated with hubs. Plenty of available grounds to use if say main venues are in use.
Negotiate with the states and set a definite return date.
I have no fears of a player getting the virus now that the case numbers are so low and restricted to specific locations.
If it were to happen then a fixture change can be arranged or in an extreme case points can be split.
This can work and all parties would be happy.
Cheer squads etc can attend games with individual social separation....if need be proof of a negative test prior to attending can be insisted on.
Completely workable.
 
I don't reckon the solution to the pandemic conundrum sits in an easy-to-define box.

But I will say this. The fact the game is making decisions on the run speaks to an astonishing failure by its custodians.

Good governance of any organisation involves a proper oversight and management of risk. Like a lot of others, I was shocked at how poorly prepared it seems the AFL was for a cessation of play.

Yes, they've invested well with Docklands, thank goodness. That has at least meant they could secure credit. Big tick. But given the incredible rivers of gold delivered by broadcast rights and attendances, they simply should have been in better shape than this.

The hand-wringing at HQ about how to kickstart the season is bewildering. Surely they had contingencies of some description in place? And surely one of those contingencies included the possibility of a cancelled season that wouldn't actually put the entire shebang in jeopardy?

Whoever is involved in risk at the AFL has been asleep at the wheel.
 
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Pretty sure they've already been in bed together. Wasn't it Gil when he was 2 IC that helped set up the the deal for Copyingwood members at the MCG?
I am not too concerned about the old boy network getting together in a manner which disadvantages the RFC.
Peggy has it all over Eddie in terms of style and ability and I have every confidence that she will continue to represent us to our advantage.
 
While I agree that the AFL should have had some more contingency funds, there is no way they should have had the funds in ready cash. With interest rates very low holding cash is just silly. Owning real estate in Melbourne is a much better idea and then you borrow against it (where the low interest rates are a distinct advantage).

As for the return to footy. We have squashed the curve. Look at the proportion of Australians with this virus, and factor in that our testing rate is pretty good. The hubs are looking more unnecessary by the day. Yes, we might end up with games played at empty stadiums, but I reckon there is every possibility that the season can resume without hubs in maybe late June/early July. Small crowds should be able to return a bit later and maybe we could even go back to large crowds by November. It does all depend on the restrictions being eased and seeing the impact and then planning for a few different scenarios.

DS
 
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Not so sure. There is.a level of difficulty arising now and it is hard to avoid thinking that division is coming down along party lines.
Victoria has few friends in Canberra and that has been the way for a while now.
It may be a little simplistic but we have done well because our Premier has focused exclusively upon public health, and others have done less well because they haven’t.
I think we will continue to take a conservative path and I personally believe that is the best way to go.
And if we follow that course, the only way the season gets up is via hubs.
 
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I don't think there's anything wrong with starting in "hubs". For instance, play your Adelaide/Perth/Qld/NSW teams against one another in the first week. If travel restrictions are eased in those states then send those teams to play among each other next. This could get the season restarted just a little earlier.

I suspect the AFL painted the worst case scenario so that a less worse scenario would be accepted. They're in constant dialogue with the Fed and State governments and know better than most what they can push through.
And the way this virus is being contained, fly in/out is surely on the cards soon enough.
 
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Isn't fly in/fly out still going in the mining industry?

Surely if miners can do this footballers can too.

DS
 
Can always send the players to the Antarctic for 4 months. People do that too.
 
Record memberships
Record home crowds
Record media deals
Apparently the game in a very GOOD state, but a week into the season and they're running for a loan.
That's bad management.
Nope. When interest rates are next to nothing, having any excess liquid cash is irresponsible. They can borrow really cheaply, so why have cash at hand? Why wouldn't you invest it instead. Now, I'm crystal clear that you don't think it's been invested wisely, but I don't hear commentators on the sport or it's finances agreeing with your assessment of the financials. Whether expansion or AFLW is a good investment, time will tell, but it makes perfect business sense.
 
Nope. When interest rates are next to nothing, having any excess liquid cash is irresponsible. They can borrow really cheaply, so why have cash at hand? Why wouldn't you invest it instead. Now, I'm crystal clear that you don't think it's been invested wisely, but I don't hear commentators on the sport or it's finances agreeing with your assessment of the financials. Whether expansion or AFLW is a good investment, time will tell, but it makes perfect business sense.
Why not invest instead of holding cash? The answer is because low interest rates have led to wide scale malinvestment and investment assets have seen a short lived boost to their prices. It was primary driven by credit expansion not due to productivity increases. The low interest rates don't reflect consumer preferences to save over consuming because they are set by government planning authorities (i.e. central banks) and not the market. The prudent investor with a correct understanding of money, credit, interest rates, time preferences, etc. would recognise that and would have seen the huge opportunities to buy assets on the horizon when poor investors were going to be forced to liquidate to pay their debts.
 
Announcement on AFL website. Fed govt releasing a roadmap for the nation next week, which will provide better guidance on training in groups and then, beyond that, playing. AIS has been instrumental in devising sport protocols.

And I thought all along it was the AFL doing the heavy lifting on this. Surely the AIS isn't as capable as the AFL!
 
I don't reckon the solution to the pandemic conundrum sits in an easy-to-define box.

But I will say this. The fact the game is making decisions on the run speaks to an astonishing failure by its custodians.

Good governance of any organisation involves a proper oversight and management of risk. Like a lot of others, I was shocked at how poorly prepared it seems the AFL was for a cessation of play.

Yes, they've invested well with Docklands, thank goodness. That has at least meant they could secure credit. Big tick. But given the incredible rivers of gold delivered by broadcast rights and attendances, they simply should have been in better shape than this.

The hand-wringing at HQ about how to kickstart the season is bewildering. Surely they had contingencies of some description in place? And surely one of those contingencies included the possibility of a cancelled season that wouldn't actually put the entire shebang in jeopardy?

Whoever is involved in risk at the AFL has been asleep at the wheel.
IMO the only group who have run this well are the mining companies and that I believe is due to the fact they are well run organisations with good plans and management ready to make tough decisions as soon as they see a risk.

My nephew is a FIFo miner and they went to strict testing (before flying) immediately with camp restrictions and changes to roster lengths. He was on week on, week off and they changed early to two weeks for quarantine reasons. It's why they caught the miner who went to Bali and came back positive. He didn't get on the plane to work. Straight to quarantine and probably now looking for a job. Put everyone else's work at risk so not a popular lad.

As far as plans go. Watching the Drum they had a former Immigration Dept official and he said they had a pandemic plan after the SARS outbreak which was updated every year. He personally reviewed it in October last year. One of the first things was to apply extensive temperature testing immediately at airports. This was not done here and he was informed that the first batch of temperature guns didn't work properly and were discontinued. He was still trying to find out what happened then.

What's that saying. "Even the best laid plans don't survive the first gunshot."

Re-start depends on one thing. Interstate travel.
Then just run it like the FIFOs. It's why they're talking to BHP. (Rio Tinto would be a better option IMO)
 
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Anyone who can break through or has access to the Huns online content please post the article on Return to Footy if possible. ..... some of the figures that the flunkies at HQ have been gouging out of the competition are extraordinary!
Wtf would a staff of 120 people in its digital business be possibly doing all day....? its not as if the clubs don't have their own people doing stuff!