The financial tsunami that swamped football when matches were cancelled to help stop the spread of the coronavirus will make the game vastly different to the one we imagined just a month ago.

We have already had a taste of it during a ghostly round one with shorter quarters and no crowds.

At some point, however, the game will return and eventually the crowds will stream in too. But other parts of the game will shrink, potentially creating a completely different experience to what we’ve been watching in the past decade.

One comment from Geelong coach Chris Scott on radio SEN summed up what lies ahead for football. ‘‘We need to prepare for a different environment in the seasons that come but it is just so hard to forecast exactly what the changes are going to be. We are going to have to ask for more from fewer people and to play our role in society,’’ Scott said.

What will the competition look like when the lights go back on?



WILL 18 CLUBS SURVIVE?

As soon as the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis became clear, maintaining an 18-club competition has been the AFL’s objective, with clubs directed to cut costs and work collaboratively to make this happen. Throughout football’s depression the AFL’s philosophy has been to shred staff and costs rather than clubs, prioritising the survival of each club – including Gold Coast and the GWS – so that when football resumes nine games will be played per round as per the broadcast agreement. Whether that remains the approach down the track no one knows but the AFL remains steadfast in wanting an 18-club competition.