AFL 2021 Port Adelaide v Geelong: Cats stranded in South Australia due to bad weather in Melbourne

As Geelong considered a dash for the Victorian border late on Thursday, SA Health was executing its contingency plan. Here’s why the Cats were allowed to stay.

SA Health says it is comfortable with the execution of its contingency plan to allow Geelong to stay in a city hotel after Thursday night’s game at Adelaide Oval.

The Cats were scheduled to fly home following their 21-point win over Port Adelaide, but instead spent the night in the Ibis Hotel because fog in Melbourne led to their chartered flight being cancelled.

SA Health, which granted Geelong an exemption to play under stringent conditions amid Victoria’s latest Covid-19 outbreak, created a “biosecure zone” at the Grenfell St lodging by booking two floors for the Cats that did not have other guests.

Geelong players and officials then caught an SA Health bus directly to the airport on Friday morning before flying home.

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Geelong players leaving the Ibis Hotel on Friday morning. Picture: Russell Millard

SA’s deputy chief public health officer Dr Emily Kirkpatrick said the preference was for the Cats to fly in and out on the same day, like Collingwood did for its game against Adelaide last week, but they needed to use a contingency plan.

She said health officials were notified on Thursday evening that Geelong would be unable to land in Victoria and needed an exemption to stay the night.

“We had already had those discussions earlier on that this was always a possibility with a late evening game,” Dr Kirkpatrick said.

“We did need to … come up with a plan that worked for both the AFL and from the community point of view.

“We were able to put in place security measures, have two dedicated floors for the players to be housed on and make sure all safety provisions could be included so there was no risk to the South Australian community.

“We’re very pleased from our perspective from SA Health how that all rolled out but a big thank you to the AFL for working with us on this.”

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Cats coach Chris Scott criticised the restrictions put on his side, calling them “arduous”.

The Cats were taken directly to Adelaide Oval after landing on Thursday then had to spend several extra hours in part of the ground, where some players took the opportunity to try to sleep, including under tablecloths.

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SA Health says it is comfortable with the execution of its contingency plan to allow Geelong to stay in the hotel. Picture: Russell Millard

Dr Kirkpatrick said SA Health would review what areas players went but the organisation was pleased it had been a safe event.

She said health officials would use case numbers and border restrictions to determine future exemptions for football games.

The next match at Adelaide Oval is the Power’s clash with Sydney on June 26.

“We have to keep in mind these have been very tough exemptions on the players in terms of the testing requirements, they’ve been isolated, they’ve only been able to go certain areas of the oval as well,” she said.

“We followed the same plans that we had in place for the Collingwood game, which went very successfully and we were happy then to implement the same plans for the Geelong team.”

Dr Kirkpatrick said other hotel guests were not notified about the Cats staying there because security and cleaning protocols ensured no contact.

All Geelong players were tested on Thursday and were negative.

Speaking on Fox Footy, Cats star Patrick Dangerfield said Thursday night’s change of plans did not come as a surprise given the Covid-19 curveballs of the past 12 months.

Both clubs are now having to isolate for 48 hours.

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The weird aftermath of possibly Geelong’s strangest away-match triumph ever included discussions of a possible midnight dash to the border to escape South Australia, Cats champion Patrick Dangerfield revealed.

As the euphoria of Geelong’s come-from-behind 21-point victory over Port Adelaide buzzed in the rooms at Adelaide Oval, a literal fog descended to change, if not dampen, the mood.

“Once the game had concluded, we made our way off and Chris (Scott) doesn’t normally speak to us after games, so that was a bit unusual in itself,” Dangerfield said as he munched on a paper-bag breakfast at his Adelaide hotel on Friday morning.

“He sort of brought us in and said ‘boys, great win, yada, yada, yada – um, by the way we can’t fly out so we’re not quite sure what’s happening at the moment, whether we’re staying overnight, because that wasn’t a possibility earlier in the week, or we’re driving over the border, but that was obviously difficult because the bus driver wouldn’t be able to get back. So it’s been strange.”

With recruit Jeremy Cameron revealing post-match he had slept under a table for several hours at the South Australia Cricket Association HQ in the lead-up to the Thursday night blockbuster, it was a far from routine Round 13 match, which ended when Fog in Victorian ruined the teams chance of flying home.

Geelong players leave their hotel on Friday morning after being stranded in Adelaide.

“Jezza is a bit of a strange Cat and he seems to thrive in the weirdness of it all, so maybe we’ll do it every week if he’s going to play the way he did last night,” Dangerfield said.

The Cats made it back to Victoria on Friday morning via a charter flight to Avalon Airport.

South Australia Deputy chief public health officer Emily Kirkpatrick said SA Health started planning for the potential change on Thursday afternoon.

“We became aware yesterday afternoon that we may need a contingency plan because of the weather conditions,” Kirkpatrick told ABC Adelaide.

Kirkpatrick said SA Health worked with the AFL to find accommodation for the team at the Ibis Hotel on Grenfell St.

“There was a dedicated space in the hotel – there was no contact at all with other guests.”

Dangerfield told radio station FIVEaa how Thursday had unfolded.

“I left home at about 8.30 (Thursday morning), got into the club around quarter past nine and then at 10 past 10 the bus picked all the players up from Kardinia Park,” he said.

‘We made our way to Avalon Airport … everything was shut there so we basically walked straight through onto the tarmac and onto the plane.

“The flight was probably an hour and a half and once we arrived in Adelaide it was straight off the tarmac, into the bus and then to the cricket facilities and the change rooms at Adelaide Oval.

“Then we were there for six hours and got into our usual away change rooms with about an hour and a half, an hour and forty, before the game started.”

FOG GROUNDS CATS IN ADELAIDE AGAINST SA HEALTH WISHES

Fog in Melbourne forced Geelong to spend Thursday night in Adelaide after its 21-point away win over the Power.

The Cats had been scheduled to return to Victoria post-match but their chartered flight back to Avalon Airport was cancelled.

Geelong had to follow strict measures, imposed by SA Health, before the game just to be allowed to play in Adelaide due to Victoria’s latest Covid-19 outbreak.

Last weekend it was thought the Cats might have to stay overnight due to Adelaide’s 11pm airport curfew but they were granted the chance to fly out immediately because their flight was chartered.

It all changed post-match due to Melbourne’s fog.

Deputy chief public health officer Emily Kirkpatrick said SA Health started planning for the potential change on Thursday afternoon.

“We became aware yesterday afternoon that we may need a contingency plan because of the weather conditions,” she told ABC Adelaide.

Ms Kirkpatrick said SA Health worked with the AFL to find accommodation for the team at the Ibis Hotel on Grenfell St.

“There was a dedicated space in the hotel – there was no contact at all with other guests.”

The players are now on their way back to Avalon Airport.

Dangerfield told Fox Footy after the game the club thought it was going to stay at the Ibis Hotel but players and staff would need to stay in the change rooms until they received more clarity.

“That fog is obviously not enabling us to fly out so it’s all very much up in the air,” Dangerfield said. “It’s a peculiar situation.

“It didn’t surprise us at all (given the circumstances of the season).

“(We thought) are we getting a bus back to Victoria?”

Dangerfield joked the team came to Adelaide “on the Wright brothers’ first plane”.

“We had guys with their heads between their legs pre-game because they were nervous about us crashing so it’s been a strange old day,” he said.

Tom Hawkins kicked four goals in a big performance.

Gary Rohan was on song with three goals.

The Cats were taken directly to Adelaide Oval after landing and had to spend several extra hours ahead of the first bounce, where some players took the opportunity to try to sleep, including under tablecloths.

Both clubs were also set to isolate for 48 hours afterwards.

In his post-game press conference, Cats coach Chris Scott said the restrictions put on his side by the SA Government were arduous.

“There’s no doubt about that,” Scott said.

In a statement, the AFL said Geelong would continue to abide by strict arrangements and protocols as approved by the SA Government before flying home at the earliest opportunity on Friday morning.

It capped a hectic night for the Cats, who finally tasted a win off a mid-season bye, having lost all eight since 2012.

Isaac Smith and Patrick Dangerfield after their win over Port Adelaide in Adelaide.

Led by a stunning final quarter from Jeremy Cameron, the Cats shored up their spot in the top four with a 21-point win.

After three early Port Adelaide goals to start the last quarter, Cameron stepped up on his way to five goals and he was ably supported by Hawkins.

“I shouldn’t play it down too much because they were trying circumstances,” Scott said.

Chris Scott was thrilled his players were able to overcome such adversity. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I think in the fullness of time people might look at us and Collingwood coming over here and still winning the game and say, ‘It couldn’t have been too bad’.

“But the restrictions the South Australian government put on us were arduous, there’s no doubt about that, but it was good we were able to put on a show.”

Of the pre-game scenes, Scott said: “I’m trying to choose my words carefully.

“If I was a little bit more of a crazy coach, looking around I would have been a lot more worried than I was, because there were some strange scenes.

“It was a strange preparation. But that’s what the South Australian government chose to do.”

Scott and his travelling party were required to spend six hours in the indoor cricket net area at Adelaide Oval.

Catnap? The Geelong players went to all sorts of measures to best prepare themselves for the game despite the difficult build-up.

Scott largely left his players to their own devices in the long hours leading up to the clash.

Jeremy Cameron chose to take a nap under a table and the extraordinary preparation worked a treat for the star forward to form part of a potent nine-goal haul with Tom Hawkins.

It was evidence of the developing chemistry between the pair that was hampered by a hamstring injury suffered by Cameron following his arrival from GWS.

“Jeremy is capable of doing some pretty special things,” Scott said.

“I thought Jeremy did some things that very few players in the competition can do.

“I think they’re both enthused by the football that they can play together and we’re fortunate in a way that neither of them have an ego that means they prioritise their own performance over the other.

“If anything what we’ve seen is that they don’t become too conscious of each other.

“I think the mindset is a noble one: they feel that if the other plays well that they’re going to end up playing in a pretty good team.”