AFL: Jed Anderson back at training after Covid-19 vaccination stand-off

Jed Anderson’s AFL career appeared on the line after he missed the league’s vaccination deadline, but he has now returned to training.

Jack Darling’s AFL career is in limbo.

North Melbourne midfielder Jed Anderson has returned to training after initially being hesitant to comply with the league’s strict Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

With round 1 less than a month away, Anderson had been barred from training with the Kangaroos after missing the AFL’s November 26 double-dose deadline for Victorian players.

He had been training away from his teammates in compliance with Victoria’s vaccination rules.

It was understood the 28-year-old had a bad reaction to his first dose so had been reluctant to roll up his sleeves for a second.

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However, the club announced on Wednesday that Anderson had reunited with his teammates after meeting the league’s requirements.

“North Melbourne Kangaroos midfielder Jed Anderson has joined his teammates at training on Wednesday after complying with the AFL’s Covid-19 health and safety protocols,” a spokesperson said.

“The club will not be making any further comment at this time.”

Liam Jones and Cam Ellis-Yolmen both opted to hang up the boots prior to the 2022 season rather than comply with the league’s Covid-19 policy.

Jed Anderson is back at training. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Darling’s Covid saga continues

West Coast premiership midfielder Dom Sheed insists he is not disappointed with unvaccinated forward Jack Darling despite it being “hard” to support his stance.

The Eagles remain unsure if Darling will get vaccinated against Covid-19 in time to play in round 1, or at all, with injuries to Oscar Allen (foot) and Jamie Cripps (pectoral) making the situation more critical.

They experimented with key defender Tom Barrass playing in attack on Friday night, but Sheed said they had not yet decided to move on without Darling, even though the clock was ticking.

“It’d be nice to have some clarity but at the moment, as a player, all we can focus on is what we can do as a team and what’s going on is a bit bigger than the players,” Sheed said.

“We’ve just got to roll with the punches and let the club deal with that.

“Jack’s, obviously, very hard to replace. I think every team in the competition would struggle to replace a Jack Darling. We’d love to have him, but, unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

Unvaccinated West Coast star Jack Darling continues to train away from the club. Picture: Supplied

Sheed pointed to Barrass, Jake Waterman and even 196cm East Perth sharpshooter Tyler Keitel, who is trying to win one of West Coast’s vacant list spots, as forward options if Darling didn’t return.

Former Fremantle forward Hugh Dixon is another player fighting for an AFL lifeline.

Sheed said Darling’s vaccination call was a “personal decision” and he and his teammates held no grudges

“He’s working through some things at the moment and, as a playing group, we support him,” Sheed said.

“It’s between him and the club at the moment. The players support him and reach out to him where possible, but I wouldn’t say we’re disappointed. It’s his choice.

“Everybody’s got a decision whether they want to get the vaccine or not, and he’s decided not to. So, I don’t think that we can be disappointed in that.

Dom Sheed says Darling still has his fellow Eagles players’ support. Picture: Michael Klein

“We support him in what he wants to do. It’s hard to support his decision, but we support him as an individual.”

Sheed said the hope was Allen would get out of his moon boot this week, which would be ahead of schedule, but Cripps was expected to miss the first month of the season.

Sam Petrevski-Seton (knee) and Greg Clark (AC joint) are the latest additions to an injury list that includes Luke Shuey (hamstring) and Liam Duggan (knee), while others have had interrupted pre-seasons.

“Just because we have maybe 30 players available, that’s not a reflection of how we’re going to be round 1,” Sheed said.

“I think a lot of blokes are going to come back within that month, and hopefully they’re fit enough to put on the park and play, but this just gives great opportunity for our younger players to step up and play a role.”

Originally published as AFL: Jed Anderson back at training after Covid-19 vaccination stand-off