The new AFL season will get underway this weekend after club commissoners voted to start the campaign - despite the Australian government calling an the COVID-19 pandemic an "emergency".
Tomorrow's season opener between rivals Richmond and Carlton will be played behind closed doors at Melbourne Cricket Ground after Prime Minster Scott Morrison announced a ban on public gatherings of more than 100 people.
The final two rounds of the women's AFL's regular season have now been scrapped and it will now instead progress directly to the playoffs.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan says both decisions were reached after a "wide consultation" with stakeholders:
"We also embark on this journey with clear instruction from the government that all industry and all parts of society need to keep moving forward and we simply cannot stand still," he said.
"We must go forward day by day listening to the advice and continue to make the best decisions for our industry while balancing well-being, welfare, leadership, and economic and social impacts. We don’t know how many games we will get into this 153-game journey before we have to pause," he said.
"But what I do know today is I feel comfortable with the government and medical advice, and the support of our presidents, CEOs, players and coaches.
"It's entirely consistent with the policy and position of our Government, both state and federal, and it's consistent with what the chief medical officer told us today that his strategy for dealing with this crisis is that industry goes forward."
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