It’s Thursday morning, heavy showers sweep across Mineral Resources Park as players complete their main training session in the lead-up to the clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
Preparation has been light. Necessarily so on a six day break into a game on the east coast.
Having played a bruising encounter against Brisbane on Sunday the senior players and staff are preparing for a flight to Melbourne four days later. It seems there has been barely enough time to dissect the Lions loss and the it’s game on again.
Monday was a recovery day, injury assessments and welfare checks. Tuesday was a low-key session, run (or walk) out the aches and pains and Wednesday was a gazetted day off.
Thursday was an early start with a solid session rather than an exhausting hit-out. They’re off the track by 11am after about 40 minutes of skills work – time for recovery and lunch before heading to airport.
While players immerse themselves in ice baths, pop into the sauna, have a massage or use other methods of recovery the match committee is meeting to finalise the line-up for the clash with the Saints. They each have their own ideas on how the team should look subject to a medical update for any of the players carrying aches and pains.
More specifically, aches and pains that will preclude them from making the flight east.
Already Liam Duggan (concussion) and Tyler Brockman (ankle) have been ruled out; Jake Waterman is highly unlikely to make the trip because of on an on-going IT band issue outside a knee. That will mean at least three forced changes.
Before heading to the airport stand-in senior coach Jarrad Schofield is due to front a media conference.
In the pre-conference briefing he confirms that Waterman won’t play and midfield bull Elliot Yeo won’t be available either. The Brisbane game was more brutal than anyone imagined.
Maybe, if we were playing in Perth Yeo might have been able to get through but throw in the travel component and the risk associated taking the field in this one outweighed the benefit.
For non-Victorian teams, particularly those from Perth, the travel factor is a real consideration and absolutely affects recovery and/or selection.
A six-day turn around is always problematic when flying east.
Yes, we know that our club and other expansion organisations signed on for that when they opted to join the VFL.
It doesn’t mean that a better fixturing model should not be examined. When the Eagles started they were playing on boggy suburban Melbourne grounds at Moorabbin, Windy Hill, the Western Oval and Victoria Park.
They were abandoned as match day venues because they could no longer service the needs of clubs or fans. Everyone expected more. Standing in the outer on sodden grassy banks was no longer acceptable to spectators.
The wanted a degree of comfort. A seat to view the action.
When the Eagles joined in 1987 – along with Brisbane – it was an otherwise Victorian-centric competition with the fixture based on the tried and true home and away fixture. The first match in a season between two clubs was played at one home ground and that was reciprocated for the return bout.
That system is now as antiquated as lace-up jumpers and metal sprigs. With eight teams – soon to be nine – domiciled in non-Victorian States the fixture needs attention.
The AFL recognises that the fixture is far from perfect. It says it needs to find a solution to the inequity that has often seen Melbourne clubs play eight or nine games in succession in their home state in the run to the finals.
As yet it hasn’t come up with solution. As yet nothing has changed in 37 years.
