2020 AFL premiership season | |
---|---|
Teams | 18 |
Matches played | 9 |
Attendance | 0 (0 per match) |
The 2020 Australian Football League season is the ongoing 124th season of the elite Australian rules football competition and the 31st under the name "Australian Football League", having changed from "Victorian Football League" after the 1989 season. There will be 18 teams competing in the league, the same as the previous eight seasons.
On 22 March 2020, the season was suspended at the conclusion of Round 1 due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic.[1]
The 2020 season was disrupted by the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, which was formally declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020, eight days prior to the scheduled start of the premiership season.
When the season was suspended, the league and clubs were faced with an acute cash flow shortage, as the gate and broadcast revenues which had been budgeted for stopped immediately;[13] clubs deriving revenues from gaming and other public venues also saw those revenues drop when public gatherings were restricted.[14] The league and clubs all stood down or severely reduced hours for huge percentages of their staff during the suspension; and the AFL agreed with both the AFLPA and ALFUA to significant play cuts for the players and umpires for the season, amounting to 50% of their wage from the point of the suspension until the end of the season, and increasing to 70% for any period of suspension which extends beyond the end of May.[15][16] The league successfully obtained a $500-600m line of credit with the National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank, leveraged against its ownership of Marvel Stadium, to cover its and its clubs' cash shortfalls during the suspension.[17]
Contingency plans have been developed to ensure the entire shortened 17 round season, plus finals, can be completed – in large part to ensure that the league can recover as much broadcast revenue as possible, since this revenue is critical to the game's finances. This may include shorter breaks between games, or extending the finish date for the season into as late as December if required – although the latter option would be complicated by grounds availability as the cricket season commences.[15][17]
The pre-season series of games returned as the 2020 Marsh Community Series, with teams playing two games each. The games were stand-alone, with no overall winner of the series. Each team played two games, many at suburban or regional venues, while all games were televised on Fox Footy.[18]
A one-off benefit match was played on 28 February 2020, as a fundraiser for the relief effort for the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season.[19] The league donated $2.5 million to disaster relief funds in association with the match.[20] Selection for the two teams was under state of origin rules, and it was the first interstate representative match featuring AFL-listed players since the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match held in 2008.
State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match | |||||
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Friday, 28 February 2020 7:50 pm | Victoria | def. | All-Stars | Marvel Stadium (crowd: 51,052) | Report |
4.1 (25) 10.2 (62) 15.7 (97) 24.10 (154) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
4.7 (31) 9.14 (68) 15.16 (106) 15.18 (108) |
Umpires: Fisher, Stephens, Nicholls, Williamson Best on Ground Medal: Dustin Martin (Victoria) | ||
Papley 5 Kelly, Greene 4 Martin, Gaff, Bontempelli, Gresham 2 Dangerfield, J Cameron, Lynch 1 |
Goals | C Cameron 3 Coniglio, Breust, Riewoldt, Smith 2 Neale, Weller, Walters, Hill 1 | |||
Kelly, Martin, Greene, Papley, Pendlebury, Haynes, Cotchin, Dangerfield | Best | Coniglio, C Cameron, Mills, Cripps, Neale, Johannisen | |||
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Map of the grounds to be used during the 2019 AFL season (excluding Jiangwan Stadium, Shanghai) |
As the coronavirus situation develops, the AFL has advised that only the first four rounds will be played as originally drawn, although the dates and times may be altered as the situation develops. The rest of the fixture will be redrawn into a seventeen-round season in which each team plays each other once.[21]
However, on 22 March 2020 the season was paused after the completion of Round 1 until 31 May 2020. This was a result of various Australian state governments announcing the closure of their borders due to the coronavirus.[1]
Round 1 (Opening Round) | |||||
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Thursday, 19 March (7:40 pm) | Richmond 16.9 (105) | def. | Carlton 12.9 (81) | MCG (crowd: 0) | Report |
Friday, 20 March (7:50 pm) | Western Bulldogs 5.4 (34) | def. by | Collingwood 13.8 (86) | Marvel Stadium (crowd: 0) | Report |
Saturday, 21 March (2:10 pm) | Essendon 9.9 (63) | def. | Fremantle 8.9 (57) | Marvel Stadium (crowd: 0) | |
Saturday, 21 March (4:05 pm) | Adelaide 11.5 (71) | def. by | Sydney 11.8 (74) | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 0) | |
Saturday, 21 March (7:40 pm) | Greater Western Sydney 17.3 (105) | def. | Geelong 11.7 (73) | GIANTS Stadium (crowd: 0) | |
Saturday, 21 March (6:40 pm) | Gold Coast 4.5 (29) | def. by | Port Adelaide 10.16 (76) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 0) | |
Sunday, 22 March (1:05 pm) | North Melbourne 8.8 (56) | def. | St Kilda 7.12 (54) | Marvel Stadium (crowd: 0) | |
Sunday, 22 March (3:35 pm) | Hawthorn 14.6 (90) | def. | Brisbane Lions 9.8 (62) | MCG (crowd: 0) | |
Sunday, 22 March (3:40 pm) | West Coast 12.6 (78) | def. | Melbourne 7.9 (51) | Optus Stadium (crowd: 0) | |
|
Colour | Result |
---|---|
Green | Win |
Red | Loss |
Blue | Draw |
Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF | Ladder |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adelaide | Syd 3 |
PA | BL | Rich | ||||||||||||||||||
Brisbane Lions | Haw 28 |
NM | Adel | Coll | ||||||||||||||||||
Carlton | Rich 24 |
WB | Ess | Syd | ||||||||||||||||||
Collingwood | WB 52 |
Rich | Haw | BL | ||||||||||||||||||
Essendon | Frem 6 |
Syd | Carl | GWS | ||||||||||||||||||
Fremantle | Ess 6 |
Haw | Melb | GC | ||||||||||||||||||
Geelong | GWS 32 |
GC | WCE | Haw | ||||||||||||||||||
Gold Coast | PA 47 |
Geel | Syd | Frem | ||||||||||||||||||
Greater Western Sydney | Geel 32 |
Melb | WB | Ess | ||||||||||||||||||
Hawthorn | BL 28 |
Frem | Coll | Geel | ||||||||||||||||||
Melbourne | WCE 27 |
GWS | Frem | StK | ||||||||||||||||||
North Melbourne | StK 2 |
BL | PA | WB | ||||||||||||||||||
Port Adelaide | GC 47 |
Adel | NM | WCE | ||||||||||||||||||
Richmond | Carl 24 |
Coll | StK | Adel | ||||||||||||||||||
St Kilda | NM 2 |
WCE | Rich | Melb | ||||||||||||||||||
Sydney | Adel 3 |
Ess | GC | Carl | ||||||||||||||||||
West Coast | Melb 27 |
StK | Geel | PA | ||||||||||||||||||
Western Bulldogs | Coll 52 |
Carl | GWS | NM | ||||||||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF | Ladder |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Port Adelaide | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 29 | 262.1 | 4 | Finals series |
2 | Collingwood | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 34 | 252.9 | 4 | |
3 | West Coast | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 51 | 152.9 | 4 | |
4 | Hawthorn | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 62 | 145.2 | 4 | |
5 | Greater Western Sydney | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 73 | 143.8 | 4 | |
6 | Richmond | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 81 | 129.6 | 4 | |
7 | Essendon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 57 | 110.5 | 4 | |
8 | Sydney | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 71 | 104.2 | 4 | |
9 | North Melbourne | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 54 | 103.7 | 4 | |
10 | St Kilda | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 56 | 96.4 | 0 | |
11 | Adelaide | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 74 | 95.9 | 0 | |
12 | Fremantle | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 63 | 90.5 | 0 | |
13 | Carlton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 105 | 77.1 | 0 | |
14 | Geelong | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 | 105 | 69.5 | 0 | |
15 | Brisbane Lions | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 90 | 68.9 | 0 | |
16 | Melbourne | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 78 | 65.4 | 0 | |
17 | Western Bulldogs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 86 | 39.5 | 0 | |
18 | Gold Coast | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 76 | 38.2 | 0 |
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Port Adelaide | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Collingwood | 42 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | West Coast | 43 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Hawthorn | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Greater Western Sydney | 45 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | Richmond | 46 | ||||||||||||||||
7 | Essendon | 47 | ||||||||||||||||
8 | Sydney | 48 | ||||||||||||||||
9 | North Melbourne | 49 | ||||||||||||||||
10 | St Kilda | 010 | ||||||||||||||||
11 | Adelaide | 011 | ||||||||||||||||
12 | Fremantle | 012 | ||||||||||||||||
13 | Carlton | 013 | ||||||||||||||||
14 | Geelong | 014 | ||||||||||||||||
15 | Brisbane Lions | 015 | ||||||||||||||||
16 | Melbourne | 016 | ||||||||||||||||
17 | Western Bulldogs | 017 | ||||||||||||||||
18 | Gold Coast | 018 |
Coach | Club | Date | Notes | Caretaker | New coach |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Worsfold | Essendon | 17 September 2019 | Will step down at the conclusion of the club's 2020 season as part of a succession plan.[42] | N/A | Ben Rutten[42] |