Follow the latest breaking news and updates on how Covid-19 is impacting the AFL
A group of 35 Collingwood players and staff will head to Adelaide this week. But their brutal Covid-19 restrictions have started now.
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Adelaide Oval fans have been urged to “duck” and avoid touching the ball during the Crows-Collingwood clash on Saturday as the South Australia government introduces the strictest Covid-19 rules ever for an AFL match.
The league took until Wednesday afternoon before agreeing to terms that would allow a group of 35 Magpies, including players and staff, an exemption to fly in and out for the match.
SA Chief Public Health Officer Prof Nicola Spurrier said they were still working through seating arrangements at Adelaide Oval and “we are looking at the ball”.
“Because sometimes, not that I’ve been to many football games, I have noticed that the ball sometimes gets kicked into the crowd and we are working through the details of what that means,” she said.
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“If you are at Adelaide Oval and the ball does come towards you my advice to you is to duck and just do not touch that ball.”
The SA Government and SA Health granted Collingwood approval on Tuesday night to play the round 12 match in Adelaide, as revealed by the Adelaide Advertiser, but the AFL initially baulked at signing off on the extreme conditions.
The league announced on Wednesday that the Magpies would play in Adelaide and would have to adhere to the following rules:
PLAYERS and staff cannot leave their houses prior to flying to Adelaide, even to get food and essentials which are to be delivered instead.
JUST 35 Collingwood players, coaches and officials will take a charter flight to Adelaide on Saturday where they will then board a bus and head straight to the Adelaide Oval for the 4.05pm match.
TO ensure the fixture goes ahead, Collingwood players and their families were on Wednesday night under strict quarantine measures, as Victoria remains in lockdown.
COLLINGWOOD will be Covid tested pre-flight and all players – including the Crows – will be tested again 48 hours later and will have restrictions on their movements until every test is back and they are all negative, according to the South Australian government.
ARRANGEMENTS will ensure the players have “limited” exposure while in SA, and
THE Magpies will depart Adelaide as soon as possible post game.
Prof Spurrier said each Collingwood player would also have to sign a statutory declaration to say they hadn’t visited a Tier 1 or 2 exposure site.
“This group of players have very tough conditions on them – they will be here, they will play the match, they will be leaving,” she said
“We could not get the team here to quarantine, this is the other way of doing it.”
On Wednesday Adelaide Oval’s Stadium Management Authority said there wasn’t any forecasted change to its seating plan at the venue.
NSW COMES TO RESCUE FOR AFL’S ROUND 12 FIXTURE
Jon Ralph, Jay Clark and Matt Turner
The AFL has successfully turned to the NSW government to keep its season afloat after shifting three Round 12 contests to the Harbour City on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, the league was still working through special testing conditions with the South Australian government for Collingwood’s hit-run mission to Adelaide.
SA Health has granted the Magpies an exemption to fly in and out of the state to tackle the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
The league was able to salvage the six-game round 12 fixture in the wake of Melbourne’s Covid-19 crisis as clubs brace for more than of $2 million in lost revenue from this weekend’s games.
Essendon’s MCG Dreamtime clash against Richmond will be played in Perth, Carlton’s home game against West Coast will be played in Sydney, Melbourne stands to lose $800,000 after its Alice Springs match against Brisbane was relocated to Giants Stadium, and St Kilda will host its match against Sydney at the SCG.
AFL fixturing boss Travis Auld said the league still hoped to reschedule games in Darwin and Alice Springs later in the season.
The protracted negotiations over the Crows-Magpies contest saw the league only reveal its fixture 72 hours before it kicks off on Friday night, with more dramas ahead for round 13.
A year after Queensland saved football, New South Wales has kept its borders open and stepped up to host three relocated matches.
The league initially sought to relocate St Kilda’s Marvel Stadium contest against Sydney to Cairns — which would have allowed the Saints to play Adelaide in the Queensland city the next week — but was denied access.
The league said Saturday’s game was an official swap, with the Round 21 game between the Saints and Swans now to be played at Marvel Stadium.
The league even considered an SCG triple header this weekend but opted to play the Melbourne-Lions contest at Giants Stadium given the heavy workload on the Swans’ home ground.
The AFL has chosen to forge ahead with its schedule and avoid shutting down the fixture for several weeks to give the itself breathing space.
Melbourne’s Covid-19 numbers on Tuesday — three new cases and nine in total — will give the league hope that it could still return football to Melbourne at some stage.
Auld said the league was still hopeful of football in Melbourne in Round 13 but admitted the fixture was now a work in progress every single week.
“The reality of the current situation in the community means the fixture will become a week by week proposition for the short-term,” he said.
“Although we won’t have matches in Victoria this weekend, we are hopeful to get the footy back in Melbourne for Round 13 and the Queen’s Birthday match at the MCG, a proposition we will continue to monitor and work with the Victorian State Government on how that plays out.
“The last few days has been a challenge for everyone, but as always, our clubs, players, umpires, venues and broadcast partners have been open-minded and accommodating on the next steps needed to keep the season going.
“We will continue to work with each State Government on finding the appropriate solutions and on behalf of the AFL I would like to thank each of them across the country for their guidance and clarity.
“We know this last week has been a blow for footy fans in Victoria, but it is only a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of keeping the community as safe as possible. Footy is a game, but we aren’t the main game when it comes to the pandemic.”
FEARS CONTINUING AFL SEASON MAY BECOME ‘IMPOSSIBLE’
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett is concerned the season will need to be postponed if Victoria extends its lockdown.
Melbourne is in the middle of a seven-day shutdown and local Covid case numbers continue to climb after another 11 on Monday.
New South Wales remains the only state allowing Victorians to enter and Kennett believes if that changes, the season will have to be put on hold.
“I think we will have to wait to see if Victoria extends its lockdown and in particular if New South Wales locks its borders against Victorians travelling,” Kennett said on SEN Breakfast.
“If that happens, I think it is almost impossible for the AFL to be able to continue its season at the moment.
“Because we’ve been locked out of everywhere, it makes it very, very difficult.”
Kennett believed the challenge ahead of the AFL was more serious than last year.
In 2020, clubs had to hub in Queensland for several months to ensure the campaign was completed and the grand final was held in the Sunshine State.
“I am sure the players and the administrations of clubs will do whatever it can to keep the season alive” Kennett said.
“I think all options have got to be considered.
“I don’t think the AFL, I don’t think you and I as commentators in terms of observers of what the AFL are doing will have a better idea until the Victorian government decides whether this lockdown is going to be continued and my great fear is that it will be.”
At this stage the lockdown is scheduled to end on Thursday at 11.59pm.
But Kennett had been told it would not be over for “a number of weeks”, which he said was “frightening if correct”.
“If that were the case I don’t see how the season can continue at present. I wonder whether we might be heading towards a postponement of some sort,” he said.
The AFL is yet to reveal its Round 12 fixture but it is not expected to include any games in Victoria.
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