Mega Thread >>COVID-19 DISCUSSION THREAD<<

[WillHayward]

Sydney the city is stuffed..

The government is absolutely asleep at the wheel. Complete incompetence.

People have been way too blase and relaxed about this. Over confidence and hubris.

Whole town will be in lock-down within a week.

Hospitals will be absolutely swamped.

The horse has bolted from the stable.

 

[caesar88]

Yep, of course winning is important. Of course creating a winning culture is important. I'll back the Swans culture to win very soon, slipping into Carltondom is a looooong way off.
Some might argue that we won't win the flag this year. Some might argue that a very heavily compromised season doesn't count for as much as it should/could. Some might argue that effort is the backbone of winning, talent is the legs, physical strength is the arms and experience is the head. Next year we'll be stronger than this year.
What playing all the kids does is give a chance for the young crew who are best 22 to play with the young crew who might become best 22. This leads to better cohesion, and with effort, talent, strength and experience,, the wins will come.
Have you noticed the Swans aren't talking about winning, they're talking about effort. They know where we are at.
We also get to have a look and see which of the young crew will make it, and where our strengths and weaknesses are, so where the holes are that need filling before we have a serious crack at the flag
Is Florent, Rowbottom, Warner, Stephens, McInerney going to be a gun midfield in 5 years time? What type of player do we need to trade in?? Is McLean, McCartin or Amartey going to be a good tall forward?? etc etc.. All fair questions.. lets find out as best we can in this compromised year rather than next

If teams are forced to play 2 games / week for a few weeks (which may happen), who makes way? Everyone makes way. No-one can play 4 games in 2 weeks. The AFL are talking about the possibilities of top up players, play who's on the list first. Preserve the bodies for next year rather than hammer them this year... and if this means we lose games (we may not, as all clubs will be doing the same) but leave nothing out on the park, then thats fine. Bring on a high draft pick

The AFL seems pretty determined to play a season. 17 games + finals. Its a money thing Im sure. And fair enough, clubs will go broke without a season, Clubs are likely to go broke with this compromised season. .... The Swans lost $600k last year, what if they lose $30 million this year? Who bails them out? None of their 4 sponsors will make a profit this year, infact, VW, Real-estate . com, HSBC are already recording record losses and may give the Swans less. The AFL can't bail everyone out, they'll lose money this year.

I agree with your last few points, particularly that I can't see players consistently playing 4 games in two weeks, especially our best and most valuable blokes.

But I still think the best development for kids is a solid NEAFL apprenticeship, with the exception of half back flankers who I think gain nothing from playing in that league. When we were a competitive, seasoned outfit regularly competing for finals and top four spots, we usually only ever had 2-3 'youngsters' in the team at any given point, and most of the time only one of them was a 'kid' straight from the draft. They would then come in, have their introduction to senior footy made so much easier, and be more confident and hit their strides straight away, making it that much easier to become a star because they already had a good stretch of NEAFL form to buoy them. It also meant players would come in and perform a role straight away, rather than having to ply their apprenticeships in the senior team, thereby adding more time to their development.

The consensus seems to be that getting games into the kids even if they're not ready will serve them well in the long term. I hear it from commentators and I hear it on here a lot, and I just cannot agree. I think giving them a baptism of fire can do irreparable damage to a player's development. It can batter their confidence, and turn them into players they may not otherwise have been if they are overwhelmed by the pace and pressure of the elite level.

I also agree that it's important we know what our midfield with Florent, Rowbottom, Warner, Stephens and McInerney will look like. Throw in Hewett too as he is only 24 and closer to his debut than he is to retirement. But it can't be rushed. This year the priority should be Florent, Rowbottom and Hewett, particularly the former two. They're the future of our midfield, and the ones who will hopefully be leaders of our midfield by the time Stephens, Warner, Campbell etc are permanent fixtures in there. I think it's important they build a chemistry as a duo over the next two years, so that we can then add the necessary players around them in the coming years. There seems to be a lot of urgency to make this rebuild happen when really it's already well in motion, it just needs to evolve naturally through the merit of performance, not being gifted games.

 

[Kirkswan]

The truth is way worse than that.

Firstly - they never should have been allowed to disembark from the boat at all. No need for a hotel. 14 days quarantine should have been mandatory.

Second - they were allowed to wander off in to the community with absolutely no restrictions at all. Not even temperature checks. No screening at all.

Just see ya later - Go spend your money and have fun!

Mostly white Americans on board. An absolute corona bomb!

Was a whole 24 hours later that the government figured it out an then made a public statement for them to self isolate.
Many of them were all over the place and most wouldn't have got the memo. They could literally be anyway. Some went to airports and got planes.

Absolutely diabolical error by our administrators an government. Truly incompetent.


How does this happen?

What? you think our administrators and government officials are perfect? They are just human... therefore they make mistakes!

Expecting perfection during times of crisis is just absolute craziness...

That is not going to be the worst thing that happens by a long shot...

Don't let the media turn this into a beat up...

 

[Kirkswan]

Sydney the city is stuffed..

The government is absolutely asleep at the wheel. Complete incompetence.

People have been way too blase and relaxed about this. Over confidence and hubris.

Whole town will be in lock-down within a week.

Hospitals will be absolutely swamped.

The horse has bolted from the stable.

Mate, this is just panic and blame casting... it's not helpful, and the situation is not the fault of the government.

Just chill a little...

 

[Kirkswan]

Some thoughts...

Australia runs on trucks.
All across Australia, small towns rely on trucks for a lot of their day to day basic items. No matter what happens, there will be people travelling, going from town to town. All Australians rely on them for just about every aspect of life, from toilet rolls to meat & fresh produces to medications and clothing...

Medical
Rural Hospitals send there patients to regional centres for specialist hospital care, who may in turn ship them cities for even more specialised care.
Many specialists (Orthos, Neuros, etc) travel to multiple regional centres in an average week, with people travelling from rural areas to see them.
Many of the tests that are needed are collected on site and then sent to regional and/or major cities.

Care - Disabled & Aged
There are many Australians who rely of people who come into their homes... some daily, some few days per week, some weekly or fortnightly. The need assistance to dress, to shower, to eat, to walk, to roll-over, to clean, to shop, to exercise; sometimes just to live... There is a virtual army of people out there who provide this assistance for a large number of different people every week. I believe that each and every one of you is likely to know someone in either one or the other of those categories. People that rely on the support of others to live.

This list of necessary travel goes on and on... shutting it down is not as simple as it seems. Don't believe everything you see in the media, because after all, people are idiots, and the media is no exception! They like to simplify everything and then cast blame with a holier than thou attitude to make them look good.

Lets stop blaming and take responsibility for ourselves... 1.5 metres distance, wash your hands regularly, don't touch your face, don't gather...

Look after yourselves, your family and friends, stay in touch with each other via phone, Skype & social media... 2020 is going to be a long, long year and things are bound to get worse. So lets save the panicking for later on... say August when there's no footy!

 

[Del198236]

I agree with your last few points, particularly that I can't see players consistently playing 4 games in two weeks, especially our best and most valuable blokes.

But I still think the best development for kids is a solid NEAFL apprenticeship, with the exception of half back flankers who I think gain nothing from playing in that league. When we were a competitive, seasoned outfit regularly competing for finals and top four spots, we usually only ever had 2-3 'youngsters' in the team at any given point, and most of the time only one of them was a 'kid' straight from the draft. They would then come in, have their introduction to senior footy made so much easier, and be more confident and hit their strides straight away, making it that much easier to become a star because they already had a good stretch of NEAFL form to buoy them. It also meant players would come in and perform a role straight away, rather than having to ply their apprenticeships in the senior team, thereby adding more time to their development.

The consensus seems to be that getting games into the kids even if they're not ready will serve them well in the long term. I hear it from commentators and I hear it on here a lot, and I just cannot agree. I think giving them a baptism of fire can do irreparable damage to a player's development. It can batter their confidence, and turn them into players they may not otherwise have been if they are overwhelmed by the pace and pressure of the elite level.

I also agree that it's important we know what our midfield with Florent, Rowbottom, Warner, Stephens and McInerney will look like. Throw in Hewett too as he is only 24 and closer to his debut than he is to retirement. But it can't be rushed. This year the priority should be Florent, Rowbottom and Hewett, particularly the former two. They're the future of our midfield, and the ones who will hopefully be leaders of our midfield by the time Stephens, Warner, Campbell etc are permanent fixtures in there. I think it's important they build a chemistry as a duo over the next two years, so that we can then add the necessary players around them in the coming years. There seems to be a lot of urgency to make this rebuild happen when really it's already well in motion, it just needs to evolve naturally through the merit of performance, not being gifted games.

sure.. everything you've said sounds good .. in a normal season. This is not a normal season.
There is no neafl.
short quarters and multiple games each week.
No crowds
changed training routines - groups of 6-8
Hard to develop in this environment

 

[The King!]

feels like we are farting at thunder here

 

[Jewelsbon]

Some thoughts...

Australia runs on trucks.
All across Australia, small towns rely on trucks for a lot of their day to day basic items. No matter what happens, there will be people travelling, going from town to town. All Australians rely on them for just about every aspect of life, from toilet rolls to meat & fresh produces to medications and clothing...

Medical
Rural Hospitals send there patients to regional centres for specialist hospital care, who may in turn ship them cities for even more specialised care.
Many specialists (Orthos, Neuros, etc) travel to multiple regional centres in an average week, with people travelling from rural areas to see them.
Many of the tests that are needed are collected on site and then sent to regional and/or major cities.

Care - Disabled & Aged
There are many Australians who rely of people who come into their homes... some daily, some few days per week, some weekly or fortnightly. The need assistance to dress, to shower, to eat, to walk, to roll-over, to clean, to shop, to exercise; sometimes just to live... There is a virtual army of people out there who provide this assistance for a large number of different people every week. I believe that each and every one of you is likely to know someone in either one or the other of those categories. People that rely on the support of others to live.

This list of necessary travel goes on and on... shutting it down is not as simple as it seems. Don't believe everything you see in the media, because after all, people are idiots, and the media is no exception! They like to simplify everything and then cast blame with a holier than thou attitude to make them look good.

Lets stop blaming and take responsibility for ourselves... 1.5 metres distance, wash your hands regularly, don't touch your face, don't gather...

Look after yourselves, your family and friends, stay in touch with each other via phone, Skype & social media... 2020 is going to be a long, long year and things are bound to get worse. So lets save the panicking for later on... say August when there's no footy!

Great post Kirky and agree with 99.9% of what you say - except were you say the media like to SIMPLIFY everything, they don't simplify it, they SENSATIONALIZE it, causing the hoarding and supermarket shortages we are currently experiencing.

 

[TheMase]

Personal story for me...

My wife has autoimmune conditions such as type one diabetes and is on immunosuppressant drugs (x2!) which lowers her immune response.

Therefore on the back of that, we are pulling our 7yo out of school (and our near 4 yo out of his 2 days a week at daycare) from Monday. We will re-evaluate after school holidays (not expecting it to change). My sons school is setting up online learning so he will be all good.

My wife works in a call centre at night, from late next week a computer is being setup in our house to allow her to do her shifts remotely.

My work I am now on a at work one week (office), at home one week schedule (split into two teams across the management of the company all the way up to the CEO) and I won’t be seeing external customers face to face unless absolutely necessary.

If any of us bring it home, my wife could end up in ICU. So we will be doing everything we can to avoid that.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

People do not give a shit i repeat they DONT CARE

You will rarely find scenes like this anywhere in the world, Bondi yesterday..

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

We are very fortunate (lucky) that nearly all cases have been mild.

 

[Punts]

Get in with life imo

Imo absolute joke how over the top this has become

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Get in with life imo

Imo absolute joke how over the top this has become

We still need to do our due diligence to make sure we keep our elderly safe.

Punts im sure you have family/friends/relavites in the risk bracket of 60-70+

 

[Punts]

We still need to do our due diligence to make sure we keep our elderly safe.

Punts im sure you have family/friends/relavites in the risk bracket of 60-70+

Yer I course , I’m more saying take precautions but live some what normal.

My old man is being treated for cancer as we speak so I know how careful we have to be with

The think the hiding inside is over the top

 

[TheMase]

Yer I course , I’m more saying take precautions but live some what normal.

The think the hiding inside is over the top

I don’t think it is, and my wife’s doctor(S) who wrote the letter(S) suggesting she take all precautions to avoid getting this as she is a high mortality risk doesn’t either.

I’d rather hide than take the risk of not having a mother for my children.

 

[Punts]

I don’t think it is, and my wife’s doctor(S) who wrote the letter(S) suggesting she take all precautions to avoid getting this as she is a high mortality risk doesn’t either.

I’d rather hide than take the risk of not having a mother for my children.

Totally understandable

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Yer I course , I’m more saying take precautions but live some what normal.

My old man is being treated for cancer as we speak so I know how careful we have to be with

The think the hiding inside is over the top

Oh gosh best wishes in his recovery mate.

 

[TheMase]

Yer I course , I’m more saying take precautions but live some what normal.

My old man is being treated for cancer as we speak so I know how careful we have to be with

The think the hiding inside is over the top

You added the bit about your old man after (so I didn’t comment on it for the previous post), hope his treatment goes well and this doesn’t effect him.

 

[Punts]

You added the bit about your old man after (so I didn’t comment on it for the previous post), hope his treatment goes well and this doesn’t effect him.

Everything going well he will be in remission in May.

Very good outcome to date with treatment as is on the liver

 

[Ticky009]

People do not give a shit i repeat they DONT CARE

You will rarely find scenes like this anywhere in the world, Bondi yesterday..

That's insane

 

[The King!]

I think the current restrictions make sense

and then individual actions eg masey with his wife etc makes sense

but I’m also with Punts let’s keep living

no good saving everyone and living on the streets half dead in the end
Unfortunate but people will die

yep it could be someone I know
Could be me

same as any time in life
And no I’m not at Bondi living it up but I want my kids to be at school learning but being safe, I want to be at work, I need to feed the kids and keep a roof over them

friends are losing jobs what do they do? They will end up sick and poor anyway

I’m sorry some people will die of this but people die of aids cancer and horrific stuff every day

I’m not saying reopen Adelaide oval and let 50000 in there today but Jesus We can’t sit in isolated rooms for months on end it isn’t a magic cure that some think it could be

 

[The King!]

Also sick of celebs posting from the west wing of the mansion they are stuck isolating in preaching

 

[Punts]

Reckon the gyms etc will close?

 

[caesar88]

sure.. everything you've said sounds good .. in a normal season. This is not a normal season.
There is no neafl.
short quarters and multiple games each week.
No crowds
changed training routines - groups of 6-8
Hard to develop in this environment

All those things have changed. You're right it's a very different season but one thing that's still the same is that every team we encounter will have their best, or close to their best side each week, and they're already likely to be more experienced than us. We just cannot send Warner, Stephens, McInerney etc out there on the basis that they have great promise for the future. That won't make them feel better when they are getting thumped every week.

I think we need to just look at the big picture. It's a new year and a year that could be considered a development year, so I get why you'd be calling for the influx of the kids. But I think people forget just how willing Horse has been over the last few years. In 2019 alone he had three teenagers (McCartin, Blakey and Rowbottom) all in the best 22. Now if they'd been added to a seasoned team like the one we had in 2014, it wouldn't be such a bold call. But those three teenagers were added to a team that was already very inexperienced, with guys like Heeney, Hewett, Papley, Mills, Aliir, Florent, Hayward and Dawson, and at times, Melican, O'Riordan and Ronke all in the side. Then he also had inexperienced guys like Rose, Bell, McLean, Stoddart, Clarke, McInerney and Fox all get at least one game.

That's 21 blokes, nearly half the list who were considered 'developing players'. He was more than willing to give the kids a go, and it netted his worst season by a long margin. Reckon this year, as compromised as it is, his focus will be on figuring out his best 22 and getting them to play as much footy together as possible. Exhibit A - resisting the temptation of unleashing a top five pick in favour of the less-fancied, but more ready McInerney.

 

[Del198236]

All those things have changed. You're right it's a very different season but one thing that's still the same is that every team we encounter will have their best, or close to their best side each week, and they're already likely to be more experienced than us. We just cannot send Warner, Stephens, McInerney etc out there on the basis that they have great promise for the future. That won't make them feel better when they are getting thumped every week.

I think we need to just look at the big picture. It's a new year and a year that could be considered a development year, so I get why you'd be calling for the influx of the kids. But I think people forget just how willing Horse has been over the last few years. In 2019 alone he had three teenagers (McCartin, Blakey and Rowbottom) all in the best 22. Now if they'd been added to a seasoned team like the one we had in 2014, it wouldn't be such a bold call. But those three teenagers were added to a team that was already very inexperienced, with guys like Heeney, Hewett, Papley, Mills, Aliir, Florent, Hayward and Dawson, and at times, Melican, O'Riordan and Ronke all in the side. Then he also had inexperienced guys like Rose, Bell, McLean, Stoddart, Clarke, McInerney and Fox all get at least one game.

That's 21 blokes, nearly half the list who were considered 'developing players'. He was more than willing to give the kids a go, and it netted his worst season by a long margin. Reckon this year, as compromised as it is, his focus will be on figuring out his best 22 and getting them to play as much footy together as possible. Exhibit A - resisting the temptation of unleashing a top five pick in favour of the less-fancied, but more ready McInerney.

think you're misunderstanding me, or I'm not articulating myself well.
Last year.. Jack, McVeigh, Grundy, Smith were basically out of most of the season injured. Buddy played 10 games, JPK missed 5-6 games, Hanners left, Naismith injured all year, Sinkers missed the last 7-8 games.
Horse had no choice but to play who he did.
With the expected multiple games in quick succession, once again, Horse will have no choice but to play a lot of young crew (prob the same for all teams).
Theres no neafl.. how does anyone develop if they don't play.

Of course Horse will play the best 22 and try to win. That goes without saying. That best 22 may be made up of a lot of 1st - 3rd year players because of the multiple games in quick succession.

Its a strange year, use it as best possible