Mega Thread COVID & AFL

[Van_Dyke]

Team,
as the season is approaching and there’s still much to discuss with regards to covid, please use this thread to talk about it and the potential impacts of it on the AFL season and the league more broadly. Please note however that if you want to talk about the politics of covid, the politics thread is the place for this and political posts in this thread will be deleted, please keep this thread to how it may impact the competition

 

[yakamoto]

Perth scarcely has winter anymore so probably won’t see a COVID wave developing consequent on weather conditions. Maybe a ripple.

 

[Big Animal]

From the bureau:

Above average rainfall across Greater Perth 2021​

• Rainfall was above average across Greater Perth, with annual rainfall totals mostly in the 800–900 mm range, to 1000–1300 mm in the Perth hills.
• Swanbourne had its highest annual rainfall on record, and a number of sites had their highest for at least 20 years.
• Perth Metro recorded a rainfall total of 892 mm in 2021, which was more than 150 mm above the annual average, and the second-highest annual rainfall on record, behind the record of 904.8 mm in 1995.

viruses prefer moisture and moist air.

 

[CapitalA]

Perth scarcely has winter anymore so probably won’t see a COVID wave developing consequent on weather conditions. Maybe a ripple.

 

[Dockeroo]

I have never liked Jack Darling

27

Jack Darling

Age

31

Ht

191cm

Wt

95kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.4

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

14.6

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

4.0

5star

G

1.4

5star

as a player, he always came across as a bit of an arrogant twat. It’s also amusing to see the eagles in this predicament.
However I can’t help feel the whole AFL vaccine mandate thing stinks. It’s long since ceased to be about health and safety. How come the NRL were able to get away just fine without mandating vaccination in their players? Is their competition going to be less “safe” than the AFL this year?
Of course not.
If there was no mandate I’d hazard a guess a good 795 of the afls 800 listed players would have got the jab anyway.
Covid is everywhere and tens of thousands of fully vaxed people are getting it every single day including dozens of fully vaxed AFL players.
It just doesn’t sit right that peoples livelihoods are being effectively taken away from them for no clear good and decent reason. It doesn’t matter if they happen to be dick heads or play for the eagles, it’s beside the point. It could just as easily be Sean Darcy

4

Sean Darcy

Age

25

Ht

203cm

Wt

111kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.1

3star

K

3.4

1star

HB

6.6

4star

CL

2.4

4star

HO

28.8

5star

D

6.8

1star

K

2.0

1star

HB

4.8

3star

CL

1.8

4star

HO

20.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

6.8

5star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

32.0

5star

or Nat Fyfe in this situation.
What about the vaxed AFL players who didn’t get the booster and had their second jab 7 or 8 months ago. The science now says they might aswell not be vaccinated at all now after that length. The whole thing has so many holes in it it’s a total farce. By the time may or June comes around there will be AFL players running around that have not had a vaccine in over a year, while Liam Jones

19

Liam Jones

Age

33

Ht

199cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.4

2star

K

6.5

3star

HB

2.9

3star

M

4.3

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

134.5

2star

D

7.6

2star

K

6.1

3star

HB

1.4

1star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.4

2star

MG

116.3

2star

D

9.4

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

2.0

2star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

and darlings careers will be over. What a shambles.
In many European counties now all restrictions are being removed in the last couple of weeks including divergent rules for vaxed and unvaxed.
I mean, do people even want to ever get back to normality?
Won’t be a popular post on here but I don’t care I stand by my opinion on this.

 

[freo99]

I have never liked Jack Darling as a player, he always came across as a bit of an arrogant twat. It’s also amusing to see the eagles in this predicament.
However I can’t help feel the whole AFL vaccine mandate thing stinks. It’s long since ceased to be about health and safety. How come the NRL were able to get away just fine without mandating vaccination in their players? Is their competition going to be less “safe” than the AFL this year?
Of course not.
If there was no mandate I’d hazard a guess a good 795 of the afls 800 listed players would have got the jab anyway.
Covid is everywhere and tens of thousands of fully vaxed people are getting it every single day including dozens of fully vaxed AFL players.
It just doesn’t sit right that peoples livelihoods are being effectively taken away from them for no clear good and decent reason. It doesn’t matter if they happen to be dick heads or play for the eagles, it’s beside the point. It could just as easily be Sean Darcy or Nat Fyfe in this situation.
What about the vaxed AFL players who didn’t get the booster and had their second jab 7 or 8 months ago. The science now says they might aswell not be vaccinated at all now after that length. The whole thing has so many holes in it it’s a total farce. By the time may or June comes around there will be AFL players running around that have not had a vaccine in over a year, while Liam Jones and darlings careers will be over. What a shambles.
In many European counties now all restrictions are being removed in the last couple of weeks including divergent rules for vaxed and unvaxed.
I mean, do people even want to ever get back to normality?
Won’t be a popular post on here but I don’t care I stand by my opinion on this.

Apparently he’s not a bad bloke

 

[Purple Jesus]

I have never liked Jack Darling as a player, he always came across as a bit of an arrogant twat. It’s also amusing to see the eagles in this predicament.
However I can’t help feel the whole AFL vaccine mandate thing stinks. It’s long since ceased to be about health and safety. How come the NRL were able to get away just fine without mandating vaccination in their players? Is their competition going to be less “safe” than the AFL this year?
Of course not.
If there was no mandate I’d hazard a guess a good 795 of the afls 800 listed players would have got the jab anyway.
Covid is everywhere and tens of thousands of fully vaxed people are getting it every single day including dozens of fully vaxed AFL players.
It just doesn’t sit right that peoples livelihoods are being effectively taken away from them for no clear good and decent reason. It doesn’t matter if they happen to be dick heads or play for the eagles, it’s beside the point. It could just as easily be Sean Darcy or Nat Fyfe in this situation.
What about the vaxed AFL players who didn’t get the booster and had their second jab 7 or 8 months ago. The science now says they might aswell not be vaccinated at all now after that length. The whole thing has so many holes in it it’s a total farce. By the time may or June comes around there will be AFL players running around that have not had a vaccine in over a year, while Liam Jones and darlings careers will be over. What a shambles.
In many European counties now all restrictions are being removed in the last couple of weeks including divergent rules for vaxed and unvaxed.
I mean, do people even want to ever get back to normality?
Won’t be a popular post on here but I don’t care I stand by my opinion on this.

We (europe)'re also coming out of winter, you're heading into winter. Massive difference.

I completely disagree with your position. It also goes with the territory of a 'no dick heads' recruitment policy that we've been following in recent years.

Only a dickhead would be anti-vax enough to torpedo his own career.

Couldn't happen to a better bunch of dickheads too.

 

[freo_leo29]

I have never liked Jack Darling as a player, he always came across as a bit of an arrogant twat. It’s also amusing to see the eagles in this predicament.
However I can’t help feel the whole AFL vaccine mandate thing stinks. It’s long since ceased to be about health and safety. How come the NRL were able to get away just fine without mandating vaccination in their players? Is their competition going to be less “safe” than the AFL this year?
Of course not.
If there was no mandate I’d hazard a guess a good 795 of the afls 800 listed players would have got the jab anyway.
Covid is everywhere and tens of thousands of fully vaxed people are getting it every single day including dozens of fully vaxed AFL players.
It just doesn’t sit right that peoples livelihoods are being effectively taken away from them for no clear good and decent reason. It doesn’t matter if they happen to be dick heads or play for the eagles, it’s beside the point. It could just as easily be Sean Darcy or Nat Fyfe in this situation.
What about the vaxed AFL players who didn’t get the booster and had their second jab 7 or 8 months ago. The science now says they might aswell not be vaccinated at all now after that length. The whole thing has so many holes in it it’s a total farce. By the time may or June comes around there will be AFL players running around that have not had a vaccine in over a year, while Liam Jones and darlings careers will be over. What a shambles.
In many European counties now all restrictions are being removed in the last couple of weeks including divergent rules for vaxed and unvaxed.
I mean, do people even want to ever get back to normality?
Won’t be a popular post on here but I don’t care I stand by my opinion on this.

You're whole post is null and void when you realise he could just take the vax and be playing


Its as simple as just take the Vaccine

 

[Dockeroo]

We (europe)'re also coming out of winter, you're heading into winter. Massive difference.

I completely disagree with your position. It also goes with the territory of a 'no dick heads' recruitment policy that we've been following in recent years.

Only a dickhead would be anti-vax enough to torpedo his own career.

Couldn't happen to a better bunch of dickheads too.

You are free to disagree but you haven’t really made a very convincing argument to change my mind. The mandate is a joke with several ridiculous scenarios that I outlined in the original post. What’s more it get more ridiculous every week that passes.

 

[Purple Jesus]

You are free to disagree but you haven’t really made a very convincing argument to change my mind. The mandate is a joke with several ridiculous scenarios that I outlined in the original post. What’s more it get more ridiculous every week that passes.

I'm not trying to change your mind because how you think doesn't affect me in the slightest. Just offering another opinion to riff on yours.

 

[Dockeroo]

You're whole post is null and void when you realise he could just take the vax and be playing


Its as simple as just take the Vaccine

It’s also just as simple as get rid of the pointless mandate.
Will the AFL still be there in Jan 2023 saying “IF YOU WERENT VACCINATED 18 MONTHS AGO YOU CANT PLAY”
It’s just daft.

 

[Dockeroo]

I'm not trying to change your mind because how you think doesn't affect me in the slightest. Just offering another opinion to riff on yours.

By the way it’s literally the depth of winter in Northern Europe right now - and it doesn’t get warm until May by Australian standards. February is the coldest month of the year in the UK

 

[Purple Jesus]

By the way it’s literally the depth of winter in Northern Europe right now - and it doesn’t get warm until May by Australian standards. February is the coldest month of the year in the UK

You're aware that it's almost Spring... literally a week to go. And yes I'm aware that it gets cold in March, it snowed in April last year. Some April's have had a week or more of 20+ days in sunshine so it can go either way. But cheers for telling me how the weather I'm literally in goes lol.

 

[Dockeroo]

You're aware that it's almost Spring... literally a week to go. And yes I'm aware that it gets cold in March, it snowed in April last year. Some April's have had a week or more of 20+ days in sunshine so it can go either way. But cheers for telling me how the weather I'm literally in goes lol.

I grew up in Ireland mate.
I know what it’s like playing sport in freezing conditions in feb and march, or on a crisp day in April or even May sometimes when the maximum is 10 degrees.
Also played soccer in Perth on a plesant 18 degree “winter” day in July when you still had to wear sunscreen.
Most western Australians dont even know what a real winter looks like.

 

[freo_leo29]

It’s also just as simple as get rid of the pointless mandate.
Will the AFL still be there in Jan 2023 saying “IF YOU WERENT VACCINATED 18 MONTHS AGO YOU CANT PLAY”
It’s just daft.

Thats not the case though, the case is just get the vaccine


There are no valid arguments against it, the only valid argument is a medical exemption and those are allowed under Aus law


Therefore its just simply, Get the vaccine

 

[Purple Jesus]

I grew up in Ireland mate.
I know what it’s like playing sport in freezing conditions in feb and march, or on a crisp day in April or even May sometimes when the maximum is 10 degrees.
Also played soccer in Perth on a plesant 18 degree “winter” day in July when you still had to wear sunscreen.
Most western Australians dont even know what a real winter looks like.

Yeah righto chief.

 

[Madas]

Apparently he’s not a bad bloke

For a knob ?

 

[oldgoat]

If there was no mandate I’d hazard a guess a good 795 of the afls 800 listed players would have got the jab anyway.
Covid is everywhere and tens of thousands of fully vaxed people are getting it every single day including dozens of fully vaxed AFL players.

This is an important (if exaggerated) point in your argument.
Yes there is overwhelming community support for vax...
But the mandates are a key lever in lifting the "overwhelming support" to over 90% getting jabbed!
I seem to have heard lots(?) of folk getting the needle because they had too, and I wouldnt call them anti-vax.
How many?

To be clear I am pro-vax and pro-mandate.
I am tri-vaxxed...mandated but I was already first in the queue.

As for Darling Jack, if he doesnt want to, he doesnt have too.
He has choices, with consequences.

 

[Dockeroo]

This is an important (if exaggerated) point in your argument.
Yes there is overwhelming community support for vax...
But the mandates are a key lever in lifting the "overwhelming support" to over 90% getting jabbed!
I seem to have heard lots(?) of folk getting the needle because they had too, and I wouldnt call them anti-vax.
How many?

To be clear I am pro-vax and pro-mandate.
I am tri-vaxxed...mandated but I was already first in the queue.

As for Darling Jack, if he doesnt want to, he doesnt have too.
He has choices, with consequences.

The best way to answer that point is just look at the NRL.
Similar organisation to the AFL - no mandate, but still the list of players unvaccinated is in single digits.
Why would the AFL have been any different?
The afl vaccine mandate has nothing whatsoever to do with public health and safety. Why doesnt Gill McLachlan mandate a third dose for every player if he’s that concerned about covid and safety?

 

[Taylor]

There are no valid arguments against it

This is the only argument for it now, since all the previous arguments for a superfit young athlete to get vaccinated against a disease that barely puts anyone in hospital and has an average age of killing people over 50 years above his age at a rate that is now less than the seasonal flu don't hold water.

The argument that it's about preventing spread - they've given up on that. The argument about it taking up hospital beds - someone in his demographic is more likely to end up in hospital from a training accident than covid. They all have private health cover anyway. The public hospitals aren't seeing them.

So the valid argument against isn't the point. There needs to be a valid argument for it.

And if your only actual argument for it for someone in his demographic is that he will keep his job then it's not medical anymore. It's about compliance.

It's closer to Harvey Weinstein. It's more about how everyone else had to do it so he should too to it's fair - but maybe the reality is that it wasn't fair for you either.

And I am vaccinated. I haven't been to any protests.

 

[salim malik]

I have friends who are smokers and they hate having to go outside of a venue on a cold wet miserable night to use their perfectly legal hit of nicotine.They feel their freedom of choice is being violated .
They follow that rule of law because passive smoke is apparently harmful to non smokers health.Im not sure about about the science of passive smoking because my parents were heavy smokers and as a child I hate to think how much of their smoking I consumed .I havent been effected and I have reached a ripe old age.
My friends feel the same way but abide by the warnings of passive smoking and respect the health of others..
Being covid vaccinated apparently protects the health of those around you.
Why don't anti vaxxers follow the health warnings and respect the health of others.

 

[Taylor]

Being covid vaccinated apparently protects the health of those around you.

They've given up this argument now. The official position is that it doesn't prevent or barely slow spread - it's now just sold as improving your own personal outcomes.

The masks are also almost entirely ineffective for the purpose they are used for.

 

[dockertor]

peoples livelihoods are being effectively taken away from them for no clear good and decent reason.

You think there are no clear and decent reasons for the mandate. That doesn't make it true. The health authorities clearly disagree with you.

 

[mattis117]

I have never liked Jack Darling as a player, he always came across as a bit of an arrogant twat. It’s also amusing to see the eagles in this predicament.
However I can’t help feel the whole AFL vaccine mandate thing stinks. It’s long since ceased to be about health and safety. How come the NRL were able to get away just fine without mandating vaccination in their players? Is their competition going to be less “safe” than the AFL this year?
Of course not.
If there was no mandate I’d hazard a guess a good 795 of the afls 800 listed players would have got the jab anyway.
Covid is everywhere and tens of thousands of fully vaxed people are getting it every single day including dozens of fully vaxed AFL players.
It just doesn’t sit right that peoples livelihoods are being effectively taken away from them for no clear good and decent reason. It doesn’t matter if they happen to be dick heads or play for the eagles, it’s beside the point. It could just as easily be Sean Darcy or Nat Fyfe in this situation.
What about the vaxed AFL players who didn’t get the booster and had their second jab 7 or 8 months ago. The science now says they might aswell not be vaccinated at all now after that length. The whole thing has so many holes in it it’s a total farce. By the time may or June comes around there will be AFL players running around that have not had a vaccine in over a year, while Liam Jones and darlings careers will be over. What a shambles.
In many European counties now all restrictions are being removed in the last couple of weeks including divergent rules for vaxed and unvaxed.
I mean, do people even want to ever get back to normality?
Won’t be a popular post on here but I don’t care I stand by my opinion on this.

Taken away from them? Nothing is being taken, they are choosing their destiny.

 

[arsesmart]

They've given up this argument now. The official position is that it doesn't prevent or barely slow spread - it's now just sold as improving your own personal outcomes.

The masks are also almost entirely ineffective for the purpose they are used for.

You love using these vague unsubstantiated, yet definitive statements. "They" "Official position" "science". Much of what you say there misses the mark.

The vaccine certainly does, as far as can be seen, impact the spread of the virus. The vax was mostly developed when the original strain etc was predominant and so isn't as effective as it might be with the mutated strains, but it still does provide that protection. It's not a perfect mechanism, but will certainly help rein in mutations and reduce your likelihood of catching it (and therefore passing it on) or fight it off more rapidly (and also therefore reducing likelihood/opportunity of passing it on). So certainly in those processes, it protects those around you, in particular the more vulnerable and those who are medically unable to get a vaccination.

Masks likewise are an imperfect barrier, but they do reduce the amount of virus load you exhale and inhale. Omicron is more prone to evading them, with its thriving with aerosolizing, so more imperfect masks' effectiveness is reduced accordingly. The better the filtration fabric in the mask the better job they will do. Also the more people wearing them increases that effectivenesss.

 

[Taylor]

You love using these vague unsubstantiated, yet definitive statements. "They" "Official position" "science". Much of what you say there misses the mark.

The vaccine certainly does, as far as can be seen, impact the spread of the virus. The vax was mostly developed when the original strain etc was predominant and so isn't as effective as it might be with the mutated strains, but it still does provide that protection. It's not a perfect mechanism, but will certainly help rein in mutations and reduce your likelihood of catching it (and therefore passing it on) or fight it off more rapidly (and also therefore reducing likelihood/opportunity of passing it on). So certainly in those processes, it protects those around you, in particular the more vulnerable and those who are medically unable to get a vaccination.

Masks likewise are an imperfect barrier, but they do reduce the amount of virus load you exhale and inhale. Omicron is more prone to evading them, with its thriving with aerosolizing, so more imperfect masks' effectiveness is reduced accordingly. The better the filtration fabric in the mask the better job they will do. Also the more people wearing them increases that effectivenesss.

I take a lot of issue with the amount of misapplication of tools beyond their purpose and sold to people, as a concept, entirely against how they are actually going to function. Masks are the big one here. Masks are almost entirely useful when they are preventing infection/contamination from leaving a host - they are quite a margin less effective at preventing transmission - especially after you've worn them and breathed in them for half an hour assuming you are wearing a mask of sufficient quality, which almost all of those used are not.

That is why I say masks are almost entirely ineffective at the purpose they are used for. People wear them to make them feel safer, so they don't catch covid. That's not what they are for.

Just like that video montage I posted before showed people ranging from senior Centers for Disease Control personnel to news anchors, billionaire investors in vaccines and Presidents talking about how the vaccine stops transmission, that people who get vaccinated can't get sick. They knew this was rubbish and for clarity there the they are the people I mentioned in that sentence.

Our own modelling data is preparing for a case fatality rate of 0.028% of people who are going to average an age around 82 years. When it comes to whether the elite athletes who are still going to be able to spread the virus at roughly the same amount (See study done on household transmission being very much the same when the household was fully vaccinated and when it wasn't - Lancet Feb 1 2022) and that they are privately insured, it is no longer a medical issue that the players are vaccinated - that's a political issue.

Players shouldn't be losing their jobs for political issues surrounding individual medical decisions they objectively do not need and the community sees no medical benefit from.

And again, I'm vaccinated.