2020 BBFFL#2 Season Launch
Welcome to BBFFL#2 for our 10th season. After the carnage of 2020 we are all hoping that a relative normality returns to footy and the BBFFL#2. The abbreviated Marsh Community Series kicks off on 4 March and with the last match on 8 March. The keys dates for this season are outlined below. We are working to an aggressive timeframe for the draft period but its the only way we can see all the clubs play once before finalising keepers which is really needed.
At this stage I am working on the assumption all 18 coaches from last year are keen to go around again in 2020 ā if this is not the case please let me know ASAP to find someone to step into the breach.
Invites to UF have gone out tonight - let me know if you havenāt received the invite or if you have changed your email address. Great work to fogdog for signing up basically immediately!
There will be one new rule change for this year. Given the shortage of Rucks based on UF positions we will now allow a coach to cover a ruck emergency from any on-field player. What this allows is for a team draw from their field position ruckman (if they have them) as their ruck āemergencyā if they end up needing one. As a reminder that the onfield setup is as follows:
Backs x 5
Centres x 6
Forwards x 5
Ruck x 1
Utility x 1
Note, emergencies only replace a non-scoring player if they have the same position allocation, unless:
- your utility doesnāt play the first scoring interchange player will replace them.
- should your ruckman not play and you have another ruck in your starting 18 then backup ruck will move to the ruck position. Emergency cover will then be provided to the position from which the backup ruckman has come from, ie if a RF ruckman is played as a forward but is needed to cover a ruck spot then the first listed forward emergency will become a scoring player.
One other change for 2021 caused by the will be the permanent move to game day lockouts. The reason for this is that teams will only be now named the evening before the AFL match, like they were for the later part of 2020. This move will cause some issues with how we manage free agency selections. A further announcement will be made on this in coming days.
For any potential top up players, ie Alec Waterman, we will again allow them to be picked up at any time in our draft, which would include before they are officially AFL listed. Clubs have until 9 March 2020 to finalise their supplementary picks so it should not be too much of an issue.
We will also run a mid-season draft after round 11 like we did in 2019, with reverse ladder order used to select newly listed players if the AFL goes ahead with its mid-season draft.
KEY AFL DATES
Marsh Community Series 4 March to 8 March
Round 1 commences 18 March
KEY BBFFL#2 DATES
Final trades to be finalised by 6pm 6 March
Squads to be trimmed to 20 by 7.30pm 8 March
Evening of 8 March a spreadsheet with available players will be circulated
Draft to commence no later than midday on 9 March
Draft to be completed by Tuesday 16 March
Partial Lockout for Round 1 at 7.20pm Thursday 18 March
Keepers
For our keepers, my preference is for you to select your 20 keepers in UF rather than posting in Blitz. Any trades that take place will not be reflected immediately on UF and I will add the players once the keepers are finalised. Anyone wishing to list a LTI will have to do so prior to the commencement of the draft to get a pick in the post draft āLTI Draftā. Otherwise you will have to wait until the first free agency period to acquire a replacement.
As per last year we will now only have 30 places available in our squads until the draft is completed. Once the draft is finalised I will increase the squad size to 32 which will then allow coaches to be allocated with their LTI replacements.
Draft Format
We will once again be using UF for the draft. It has worked really well the past. I will still send out the initial spreadsheet with averages for the last couple of years (including an adjusted value for 2020) and also post the overall draft picks in Blitz. The combination of email alerts and texting should ensure the draft moves smoothly.
We havenāt seen much action on the trade front yet, but it would be great if everyone was active in trying to improve their lists and or draft positions. Please do the right thing by other coaches and respond to their PMs. There is nothing more frustrating than a non response.
As always let me know if you have any questions or issues. Go Bulls!