As has been the case in every corner of the football world, the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the women's game has been a profound one.
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Specifically with the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos, a team which has not only had its chance of collecting premiership glory taken away by the virus, but must also manage players based in two states, with its plans for their Tasmanian-based players this post-season now up in the air.
Even the exit interviews held on Saturday had to be delivered slightly differently, coach Scott Gowans revealed, with those conversations more reflective, as focusing on areas of improvement is tough considering the unknowns about how much football will actually be played before the next AFLW season.
Gowans himself had planned to spend more time in the state with his Tasmanian-based players, who in turn were also set to spend more time in the VFLW (potentially six or seven games) than the TSLW in 2020.
All those plans are on hold due to football's current hiatus, and the length of Tasmania's border control measures could also play a role.
"The idea was to really ramp it up to the next level, and depending where they live (in Tasmania) spend more time down there related to footy stuff,'' Gowans said.
"For them to go to that next professional level in their footy life it had to be that way, even though it would be tough on the TSLW, and I was hoping to get down there when they were playing as well, but that is on hold now.
"We're obviously waiting on a decision on whether the VFLW (and TSLW) goes ahead and they will just keep doing individual training if it doesn't happen."
This change of plans follows what can only be described as a mixed year for his Tasmanian group, with early plans for them to all to see significant game time scuttled for one reason or another.
The standouts
North had nine Tasmanians on its 2020 list, with Emma Humphries, Nicole Bresnehan, Mia King, Daria Bannister, Abbey Green and Libby and Chloe Haines in Hobart and Brittany Gibson and Ellie Gavalas in Melbourne.
Gavalas was the standout for Gowans, ahead of King and vice-captain Gibson.
Gavalas, the soccer convert from the South, was one of two Tasmanians (with Gibson) who played every game of the shortened season, with the 24-year-old averaging 13 disposals a game, with her goal on the three-quarter time siren of the semi-final pivotal in the Roos' success that day.
"She was the surprise packet,'' Gowans said.
"At the Bulldogs (in the VFLW where she was drafted from), by her own admission, she would have said her kicking was her weakness, but she worked really hard for 10 weeks and decided not to take the longer kicks, but work within her range and just get that right. She finds the footy well and is really tough, and is going to be a really good player for a long time."
Launceston young gun King was one that Gowans was always confident would cope with the step up, playing the last four games of the season and averaging nine touches a game.
"Her competitiveness stood out,'' he said of the 18-year-old.
"While she is a very smart person off the field, her football IQ was the question mark.
"She just hunts the footy so well, but when she does gain that knowledge, she will just find herself in much easier spots to get some more easier footy, and at the moment it is all just about that contested work, which is great, but she just needs to learn the outside game now."
Gibson, the Burnie premiership player and TWL best and fairest winner who has yet to miss a game in four years, played forward and back this campaign.
"She stood up more as a leader this year, and was a little bit more forgiving and her ability to instruct rather than just blast (teammates) was really good,'' Gowans said.
"She cemented herself down back last year and we had every intention of playing her forward and when Duff (Jess Duffin) got pregnant I had to tell her she's going back again.
"Aileen Gilroy going pretty well in the middle part of the year allowed us to put her (Gibson) forward, but she's that good on field as a leader it allows us to spread the leadership across the ground."
The unlucky ones
While Gavalas, King and Gibson were the good news stories, there was also the hard luck cases.
Launceston's Bannister saw her wretched run with injury continue after fracturing her collarbone during the opening round, Wynyard's Humphries (ankle) and Clarence's Bresnehan (hamstring) hurt themselves before round one and Launceston's Green dropped out of the team following her second appearance due to knee issues.
Being out of a team that was doing well and had no injuries made it tough on that group in a short season.
Bresenehan played the final three games and Humphries got one game in late, but Bannister and Green were not seen again after initial appearances.
"Fitting into a game structure is that one thing you can't really train during the season, unless you are actually playing,'' Gowans said.
"Both Nicole and Hump did okay, but struggled with some structures and defensive stuff, as that continuity of playing two practice matches and an intraclub and going into round one, that is just huge, as if they miss that early bit they are in so much trouble.
"Then there's Daria, who has just has had no luck with injuries and just needs to play and get herself as fit as she can before the pre-season as it will have to turn for her, as she is such a talent."
Gowans said Green was close to coming back in when the year was called off, and would have been a big chance against Carlton in the preliminary final with match-ups working in the ruck's favour.
There's also the Haines twins, who simply couldn't dislodge any of the incumbents after missing the cut in round one, with Chloe's season ending after rupturing her ACL in a VFLW practice game and Libby still searching for her AFLW debut.
Chloe's knee operation went "really well", with Gowans expecting the "quiet and resilant" midfielder to bounce back from the setback in a big way, with Libby not putting a foot wrong despite the disappointment of being out of the team.
The future
Gowans said his group were already using the disappointment of this year's missed opportunity as motivation heading into 2021.
The Roos were the best of the Conference A teams and had won six matches in a row when the season was called off, having bounced back after missing the finals in their first year in the competition in 2019.
"We had a team meeting the day after (the season was called off) and we spoke about the disappointment, but it quickly turned to a feeling that we could get an advantage out of this if we look after ourselves and then get back into our training individually, we could get a jump on the competition,'' he said.
"We've had a sneak peak of what 14 teams looks like and who's who in the zoo and we know the areas we need to improve, so we are going to use this as a bit of an advantage."
He believed the standard of the competition would only rise further.
"The average chain of possessions improved slightly, which means the skill level is improving, but the big one for me is the structures,'' he said.
"When you coach against the sides you can tell what they are trying to do, but it went to another level and momentum swings based on positional moves you can tell they are planned and set plays. I reckon you will find that it becomes even more technical and you will see some good footy from it."
His final wish, other than to be preparing for a grand final this weekend, would be to have the likes of Carlton and Fremantle in Tasmania next year, such is the advantage his side has here after four wins at an average winning margin of nearly 32 points.