With proposals for hubs in Victoria and on the Gold Coast to resume the AFL season, a report has surfaced that senior players are threatening to walk out if their families can’t go into camp with them.
These players need to grow up and understand their responsibility to get jobs back for the football industry.
If they don’t play this year, the clubs feel the effect for decades to come. More staff will lose their jobs and programs like AFL Women’s will be in a vulnerable state.
The players need to understand that it is their job to play football – for very good money.
The whole idea of the hubs system is to isolate the players. If families come too, they would be required to find bigger facilities, which just isn’t feasible.
Another report suggested, at most, clubs could bring 32 players because it is a costly exercise. How are the AFL going to afford for all the family to come too?
The hubs are meant to stop any chance of the coronavirus getting into the system. The more people around theses hubs, the greater the risk of a player contracting it.
Being an AFL player is a privilege, not a right. Many people around the country would love to be in the position that they are in now.
If they threaten to stand down, good. Let them walk away and we can pick up a whole bunch of community players who actually want to play the game they love.
The AFL needs to put their foot down and stand true to their word. This is a crucial moment in our game and head office cannot afford to be bullied.
The Brazilian
Roar Rookie
A round of applause for a real hero!
ScottD
Roar Guru
Yeah sorry but bringing the wide and Kids along for 10-20 weeks and then expecting them to be isolated isn't realistic. It'll be hard enough to keep the playing group isolated. The AFL just has to ask the players to nominate for the season. They are either in or out. If out then they get the minimum rookie wage. If they are in they get the agreed playing wage. Then either enough players nominate to play or they don't. If they don't get enough players then the season is off.
Matches
Roar Rookie
'Gutless' is closer to the description of the Richmond players response! No wonder the other players described it a "laughable" It's expected from Cotchin & co.
Matches
Roar Rookie
I was 7 when I went to boarding school after my father died. It was really difficult but I knew it was something I had to deal with. One comment about Richmond and the Victorian players: SOFT as warm butter. A few weeks is all they're asking for you weak squiibs. Rewoldt, Cotchin & co are too used to being pampered by the AFL & come a challenge they go to ... butter!
AxeMaster
Roar Rookie
Another reason why the AFL & the NRL for that matter, both probably might not get back up this year is because fans will still turn up to empty stadiums and congregate on mass outside with zero social distancing. So another outbreak / cluster could still happen, especially around finals.
Gyfox
Roar Rookie
Looks like we will know later today after National Cabinet meets. Now talk is about FIFO instead of hubs
Kev
Roar Rookie
AFL players live in a world disconnected from reality and expect to be mollycoddled despite their claims to the contrary. Tennis players travel for 11 months of the year as a normal part of their job and yet AFL players can't stomach the prospect of being away locked in a hub away from family for 3 or 4 months, that has only come about because of a once in a century pandemic. The whole purpose of a hub is to stop the virus spreading and allowing families to stay there or allowing players to fly in and out defeats that. If they don't want to agree to a hub then just cancel the season.
Seymorebutts
Guest
Yep... 800,000 Australians are now unemployed.. we will have the worst unemploment since the Great Depression.. even worse than 1980 for those of us old enough to remember it.. 10% it was. And players, earning 5 times the average wage are refusing to go to a hub and get paid to play a game while everyone else will be struggling to survive? Any player thinking like that is free to walk away from his club..take his money and he can go mow lawns for the rest of his life.
The Brazilian
Roar Rookie
. . . Tigerland!'.
The Brazilian
Roar Rookie
I think you jumped the gun with this comment. Numerous players from different clubs have come forward with the same concerns. I also get it that Richmond, being reigning premiers and,well, awesome, are the team everyone looks to as far as taking the lead in all sorts of situations. Leadership! We have it in spades!
shifty
Roar Rookie
spot on, if they don't want to play they can forfeit there contracts.
Brendon the 1st
Roar Rookie
The 0nly problem I have with them not wanting to go into hubs is that they’re on 50% of their standard wage at the moment, surely refusing to work puts that salary in jeopardy, they can’t just sit around draining the clubs and the AFL’s money for doing nothing. A lot of that dough is membership money, my money.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
One of the coaches of the past ( maybe Allan Jeans) used to tell players to stay away from “relations” the night before games as they apparently played with more vim and vigour. 20 weeks abstinence they’ll all be like Buddy frickin Franklin.
Seano
Roar Rookie
Afl is gutless, no chance it stands up too the players.
adhitya0710
Roar Rookie
I'm not demeaning the value or importance of family. But I do have a question when the players keep saying it is hard to be away from family for 2-3 months. The Aussie cricketers went on a 4-month tour of British Isles last year and it is something that happens very commonly in cricket with every team. If other sportsmen can do it, why can't the AFL players do it?
Marty
Roar Rookie
Wow, nice rant! Unfortunately, like most rants, it doesn’t take into account that life is a bit more complicated that black and white. I’m sure for some players it will be relatively easy to go 20 weeks without seeing their family. For others, however, it will be incredibly difficult for reasons so complex that I couldn’t begin to explain. That is why each situation should be considered on its merits, instead of rushing to judgement as the author has been so eager to do.
berrlins
Roar Pro
These people are paid good money to play football it's true, but I'm not sure where it's stated in there contract that they would have to leave their families for upto 20 weeks. considering the amount of families with newborns I can understand them not wanting to comply. I imagine there would be financial consequences for those players who don't wish to leave their families but they should'nt be criticised for not wanting to do something they aren't contracted for.
Martin
Roar Rookie
The AFL needs to manage player contracts better so that they only get paid for the product they produce. That is getting paid after each home-and-away round of football. So for clubs that don't make the finals, those listed players would receive their salary in 22 instalments. There would naturally need to be slight adjustments each week for the match payment component for the players picked in the team. You know it's not fair on previous generations of players that the iconic Marvel Stadium had to be mortgaged. Over the decades this asset has been built up by previous generations of players and administrators for the long term prosperity of Australian rule football, and now there's an A$ 600 million credit facility hanging over the competition -- a debt trap.
Gary Butterfield
Guest
Ok, let the families into the hubs. What about the extended families of the families. Ok let them in too.... Then what about the extended families of the extended families of the families........ Where is the proposed line in the sand ????
AJ73
Roar Rookie
The difference is that you choose to go into those jobs/careers knowing the consequences of choosing those professions. AFL footballers quite rightly expect to be gone for maybe a couple of days, not weeks or months. Big difference. I would expect in any job that if there is too be a major change in the working circumstances, that the employees would be consulted like the AFL are doing.