Dear Members and Supporters,

I hope that you are all safe and well in these difficult times. Please take care of yourself, those close to you and support the broader community by adhering to Government protocols. The sooner we can get COVID-19 under control, the sooner we can get back to watching football together.

It has been an incredibly sad week for our Club following the tragic passing of former player and life member Shane Tuck. He was loved by everyone at the Club and we extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Kat and children Will and Ava, as well as his parents Michael and Fay, and his extended family and friends.

Shane was a fierce competitor on-field, a great character off it, and a favourite among our members and supporters. He will be sadly missed. Our playing group will wear black armbands in tonight’s game against GWS as a mark of respect for Shane. Both teams will also observe a minute’s silence pre-game.

In this ever-changing season, I wanted to provide you with an update as to how the Club is managing the current situation.

It is obviously a fluid environment and we are incredibly grateful for all the hard work being done across the entire competition to ensure our great game finds a way through season 2020.

Our latest block of games has been released by the AFL. The compressed fixture will see 20 consecutive days of football played across the nation. Football has been an important outlet for so many during this difficult time, and that is particularly the case in Victoria right now. As a Club we are excited by what lies ahead, and I have no doubt you are as well.

As things stand, we expect our players, coaches and football staff to be based outside Victoria for the balance of the 2020 home and away season. The entire group has embraced the challenge with great positivity, and I think it has been reflected in the football they have played in recent weeks.

We have 35 players in the Gold Coast centre while we retained eight players in Melbourne. The Gold Coast number includes Toby Nankervis and Dion Prestia who are currently in quarantine and who will complete their injury rehabilitation in Queensland. The group in Melbourne comprises six of our younger players along with Shane Edwards and Bachar Houli who remained for personal reasons.

The Club fully supported and understood the reasons Bachar and Shane opted to remain in Melbourne. Family comes first. We wish Shane and his partner Sam well on the impending birth of their first child and we congratulate Bachar and Rouba on the birth of Mohamed.

Our thoughts are also with Bachar’s mother Yamama who is seriously ill fighting COVID-19. We are pleased to hear her condition has improved in recent days. Bachar was greatly appreciative of the support he has received from all of you, and the broader community, when he shared the distressing news.

And speaking of support, the Tiger Army never ceases to amaze us. As it stands the Club has 98,614 members – an incredible show of loyalty. The Club is now embarking on one final push to see if we can reach 100,000 members for the third consecutive season. We remain the only club in the AFL to reach the 100,000-member milestone and to achieve that result in the current circumstances would be truly remarkable. Let’s do it!

I would also like to acknowledge our interstate fans who have been able to go to games and to support our players in recent weeks. You may be relatively small in numbers due to crowd restrictions, but you have certainly made some noise and I know that the players have enjoyed hearing you in the stands.

Of course, the business of football continues, and our management team continues to work through the fallout from this season, but has also started planning for 2021 and beyond. With so much uncertainty this is a difficult process, but we are building on a strong foundation.

As mentioned earlier, our members have been wonderful as have our coterie groups. We thank each, and every one of you. We also have great corporate partners, who despite their own industry challenges, have worked alongside us in these difficult times. A number of these partners have committed to extend their partnerships with us and we look forward to sharing that information with you in due course.

The Board is also well aware of the sacrifices staff at the Club have made in order to keep this Club strong. Great people make great clubs, and we count ourselves lucky to have wonderful, capable and committed staff who have been incredibly patient and understanding during these frustrating times. We thank them.

So, we look forward to tonight’s game against GWS. It will be a night tinged with sadness following the events of this week. However, knowing Shane Tuck he would want the team to just roll the sleeves up and get the job done.

Stay well, stay connected.

Go Tigers

Peggy O'Neal