STATE OF THE UNION Return to footy 2022
VACCINATIONS
THE AFL intends to avoid a formal “no jab, no play” policy for its 850 players. Instead, players and industry staff will be strongly encouraged to get vaccinated. No such leniency will apply to fans, however. State governments are likely to enforce “no jab, no entry” rules for stadiums. A formal position from the AFL and the AFL Players Association is imminent.
FINANCES
EMERGENCY costs to keep the season alive soared beyond $6m a week at their peak, but clubs have been told the AFL fared better financially in 2021 than forecast in 2021. The net result is tipped to come in well below last year’s $22.8m operating loss. A $40m bonanza from the Perth grand final helped.
DISTRIBUTIONS
CLUBS have been told to brace for cuts to base AFL distributions of about $2m a club, but will have the right to negotiate extra funding based on their financial situation.
SALARY CAP
CLUBS were allowed to spend $13.19m on players this season but negotiations over the 2022 cap continue. Players have taken hefty pay cuts across the two-year Covid crisis. Under the collective bargaining agreement struck before Covid, the salary cap was supposed to hit $14.77m in 2022.
SOFT CAP
THE $6.2m football department spending limit will increase by a modest $250,000. Exemptions are in place for some mental healthrelated expenses. Hawthorn will be hardest hit, paying $450,000 in the cap as part of its contract settlement with ex-coach Alastair Clarkson.
LIST SIZES
A FINAL decision on list sizes has not been made. In 2021, clubs were permitted a maximum of 38 primary list players and up to six rookies.
MEMBERSHIPS
MASSIVE numbers of club members have stayed loyal despite the wipeout of games at Victorian venues.
Melbourne Storm laid down the gauntlet to AFL clubs last week by covering the fees of next year‘s returning members.
ATTENDANCES
CROWDS are expected to be back to full capacity next season but it remains to be seen whether two years of disruption affects spectator habits. Gate-takings are crucial to the bottom line.
RULES
AFL football boss Steve Hocking left in July (to take charge at Geelong). Former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has taken over some of Hocking’s responsibilities but reports to the new general manager of football, Andrew Dillon, the league’s long-time legal and integrity chief. Hocking’s contentious ‘stand’ rule failed to curb a slump in scoring but AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has indicated it is here to stay.
GAME LENGTH
A RETURN to 20-minute quarters in 2021 was widely applauded by fans and broadcasters (who pay the bulk of the bills). It seems certain the AFL will stick with tradition.
COMMISSION
THE nine-person AFL Commission has been operating in a reduced capacity since the retirements of Kim Williams and Jason Ball in January. Five club presidents have been engaged to help select their replacements. Commission chairman Richard Goyder continues to resist calls for a sweeping independent review of the governance structure almost 30 years since the previous.
HAIL THE CHIEF
2022 is tipped to be Gillon McLachlan’s last season in charge. Senior league executives Andrew Dillon and Travis Auld are the leading internal candidates, while highly respected Richmond boss Brendon Gale is the clubland favourite ahead of Giants chief executive Dave Matthews.
TRADE PERIOD
IT runs from Monday, October 4 until Wednesday, October 13.
DRAFT
THE national draft will be held in Melbourne over two nights, November 24-25.
BROADCASTING
AFL TV rights partners Foxtel and Channel 7 are contracted until the end of 2024.
GRAND FINAL
McLACHLAN concedes a strong fan sentiment for a return to the traditional 2.30pm at the MCG. Talk of an interstate grand final every four or five years would be in breach of a watertight contract between the AFL, the MCC and Victorian government, which has pumped $225m of taxpayer funds into the league’s privately owned Marvel Stadium redevelopment.
PRE-SEASON
FIRST to fourth-year players will hit the track on November 22. Fifth-season and beyond players return on December 6. Players will be on leave from December 19 until January 10.
TASMANIA
THE Carter Report into the future of Tasmanian footy was a fizzer, but the 18 AFL clubs could still be given the chance to vote next year on a standalone Tassie team. A number of clubs support the principle.
AFLW
Season begins on January 6, the last before all 18 clubs field teams for 2022-23.
FIXTURE
THIS year’s flexible floating Covid-19 crisis fixture is likely to be scrapped in favour of a traditional schedule in which all games and starting times are locked. The extent of Thursday night football will depend on an agreement between the league and the players’ union over exposure to five and six-day breaks.
TAB FLAG MARKET
Melbourne ($4.50), Western Bulldogs ($7), Brisbane ($8), Geelong ($10), Port Adelaide ($10), Richmond ($11), Sydney ($11), West Coast ($15), GWS ($15), St Kilda ($23), Essendon ($23), Fremantle ($34), Carlton ($34), Adelaide ($67), Collingwood ($67), Hawthorn ($81), Gold Coast ($81), North Melbourne ($101).
Compiled by GLENN McFARLANE and MICHAEL WARNER