Dear members and supporters,

I hope that you and your family remain safe and well.

It's hard to believe that, less than a month ago, we were in the midst of our inaugural NAB AFL Women's season and busy preparing for another AFL season. How things have changed for the club, and for the broader community.

Across the country, the health consequences and the economic impact of COVID-19 have been immense.

During a difficult few weeks, the postponed AFL season has meant many tough decisions have had to be made across the AFL industry. In previous messages, I've outlined the immediate impact on our players, coaches and staff group.

In summary, players have accepted a reduction in pay of 50%, to be reduced again to 30%, should no further matches be played as part of the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership season. Football department and administration staff have been stood down, had their hours and/or salaries reduced, or are taking extended leave; some have already been made redundant. A skeleton staff is ensuring the ongoing running of the club's basic operations for now.

The competition's primary revenues depend on different sources, including broadcast, sponsorship, membership and ticketing revenues, each of which have been dramatically impacted by the postponement of the season.

The question of how clubs survive financially without matches in the short term, or matches without spectators, has been the subject of much discussion.

Like most businesses, the costs of running the club don't disappear along with the revenues; however, the AFL has been working with clubs to ensure the survival of all of the 18 clubs, securing a loan using Marvel Stadium and other assets to assist in shoring up the finances of the competition. The AFL has also reduced staff numbers, salaries and operations to ensure that the competition has the best chance of survival.

At West Coast, we have been prudent in our expenditure over the years, have a very strong and loyal membership base, and have enjoyed some success over that time.

We are therefore fortunate to not require assistance from the AFL at the moment. And we want to keep it that way, but it doesn't mean that we are immune from the impact of decisions that the AFL must make, including reduced funding to our club. We will continue to receive player payment funding the same as other clubs; however, will not receive any other contributions towards our costs.

This is a significant reduction in funding; however, we are in the fortunate position to be able to draw on our existing assets to make it through in the short term. Despite this, and although we will continue to prudently manage and cut costs (both in conjunction with AFL decisions and within the club's operations), we may not be in a position to sustain the club in the longer term, without assistance.

We want to avoid going into debt where at all possible, as we all know that this is a difficult position to come back from, in the AFL world, as much as anywhere else.

We will continue to make good business decisions in order to cement the future financial stability of our club, and your ongoing support as a member will make this possible.

I know that you are keen for answers regarding membership arrangements for 2020, and understand that you may well be going through a difficult time yourself.

I want to thank you for your patience as we work through the various scenarios; we still don't know how many of the proposed matches will be played, or played with spectators, and this is fundamental to planning any form of adjustment to your membership subscription. We need more time to work with the AFL and explore options before we can take any action, and we will let you know as soon as we have more information.

In the meantime, our members are sticking by us, and messages of support and passion continue to come through – we appreciate every single one. Many members have also been strongly supporting the club through our online SuperStore, and we will continue to fulfil those orders for as long as they are coming in – new stock continues to arrive to satisfy your blue and gold passion.

Our players continue to try to find ways to keep their (and all of our) spirits up, by sharing their inventive workouts on social media, along with the clever ways they are amusing themselves in isolation.

We are doing the same via our club website, and our own social media channels.

Despite all of the challenges, the AFL and all clubs are committed to finding a way to complete the remaining 144 matches of the previously announced, shortened 17-round season.

Whether that is able to occur, and whether we are all able to get back to some form of normalcy with work and our social environments, is dependent very much on the community's commitment to slow (or better yet, stop) the spread of COVID-19.

We all have a responsibility to do our part in observing government regulations in relation to health hygiene, social distancing and self-isolation when either ill or at risk of being infectious.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you on behalf of all of us, to those frontline healthcare workers who continue to show dedication and care for the community, in spite of the dangers to themselves.

Take care of yourself, and those around you – stay safe!

Kind regards,

Trevor Nisbett

Chief Executive