AFL Covid-19 news: State Government reveals crowd to be allowed at Cats v Dogs; what’s next for MCG?
With capacity limited to 7000 at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night, tickets for the Cats-Dogs blockbuster will be limited. Find out which fans will get first priority.
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Priority 1 Geelong members are likely to be the only Cats fans at Friday night’s blockbuster against the Western Bulldogs at GMHBA Stadium.
With stadium capacity limited to 7000 by the state government, Geelong has decided to give first access to its reserved seat holders and Geelong social club members.
The club believes those groups will exhaust their ticket allocation.
Western Bulldogs members residing in the local Geelong area (including Greater Geelong, Colac Otway, Queenscliff, Surf Coast and Golden Plains Shire) will be eligible to purchase tickets from a limited allocation, from 3pm on Thursday.
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In an email to members, Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said:
“With such a limited capacity for the stadium this Friday night, we have made the decision to firstly provide access to Priority 1 members, being Reserved Seat holders and Geelong Social Club members. Should any tickets remain after these groups we will communicate further information to you, however at this stage we think this will be unlikely.
“Unfortunately, this difficult decision means that as a member with Priority 2 general admission access you will currently not have the ability to redeem a seat for Friday night’s game.
“With five remaining home games in 2021, we look forward to having you there cheering on your Cats again this year.
“The support of our members is what allows us to continue to be a Club that our fans and community can be proud of and for that we thank you.
“We hope you are able to tune in from home to what is sure to be a thrilling contest.”
GMHBA Stadium will fill to 20 per cent capacity for the Geelong-Western Bulldogs clash, with spectators restricted to those who are local residents and club members.
What Cats crowd decision means for MCG, Marvel
Footy fans desperate to return to the MCG and Marvel Stadium for four highly-anticipated matches next week received fresh optimism on Thursday as the Victorian government agreed to let 7000 fans into Geelong’s Friday night’s blockbuster.
The backflip will see GMHBA Stadium fill to 20 per cent capacity for the Geelong-Western Bulldogs clash, with spectators restricted to those who are local residents and club members.
Privately, there were hopes that health authorities would sign off on a larger crowd, given the clash is in a regional town where there has been no cases of coronavirus for several months.
“While we would always like the crowd to be bigger, we understand that public health and safety comes first,” the Cats said in a statement.
The AFL said it would “continue to work with and be led by state governments on crowds” for upcoming rounds.
Round 15 is a big one for metropolitan Melbourne, with the MCG set to host Richmond-St Kilda on Friday night and Essendon-Melbourne on Saturday night.
The Saturday night blockbuster was expected to draw a monster crowd, given the Bombers were in blistering form before the bye and the Demons sit on top of the ladder.
The Bombers and Demons have already been forced to relocate their marquee home games for the season, with Essendon playing Dreamtime in Perth and Melbourne playing Queen’s Birthday at the SCG.
Marvel Stadium is scheduled to host Collingwood-Fremantle and Carlton-Adelaide on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Metropolitan Melbourne has been about a week behind regional Victoria in the lifting of restrictions and so there is hope the government will allow footy fans back next week.
A 20 per cent capacity crowd next weekend would see a maximum of 60,000 Victorians attend across four games next weekend.
The Boxing Day Test at the MCG last year was capped at 30 per cent crowd capacity.
But there are no guarantees that Victorian health authorities will open up before next Friday night.
There has been not been a crowd at an AFL game in Victoria since May 23.
North Melbourne and Hawthorn chose to take their home games to Tasmania this weekend because crowds were banned in Melbourne.
Relocating games interstate will again be considered if the Victorian government does not allow fans to attend.
“We’ll work with the AFL and the clubs to allow a crowd of up to 7000 people from the region (to attend the Cats-Dogs clash on Friday night),” acting Victorian premier James Merlino said on Thursday.
“So Colac, Otway, City of Greater Geelong, Queenscliff and the Surf Coast to attend at Kardinia Park, provided they are members of the two clubs so we can keep a very tight record of two attends.”
Earlier: Cats push for crowds to attend
Geelong is still pushing to give a home town voice to its GMHBA fortress for the top four clash against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
Cats chief executive Brian Cook said he was hoping the State Government would allow them up to 18,000 fans – 50 per cent capacity – through the gates.
Cook said an empty stadium would cost Geelong up to $900,000 in lost revenue.
It comes as Hawthorn was hoping its Melbourne fans would be allowed to travel to Launceston and boost crowd numbers for its Sunday clash against arch rival Essendon.
The AFL announced on Monday night it was moving two Melbourne games to Tasmania this weekend because crowds would be banned in Victoria.
North Melbourne will play Brisbane in Hobart on Saturday and the Hawks will tackle the Bombers in Launceston on Sunday.
“Friday night’s match will remain at GMHBA Stadium with no crowds permitted as per current Victorian Government advice,” the league said.
But Victorian health Minister Martin Foley revealed on Tuesday there was a possibility spectators could attend the Geelong match.
Cook said while he was “keeping my fingers and toes crossed” he thought it was “more unlikely than likely” the gates would open.
“I’m hoping the government may allow a game down here to have a crowd and I’m hoping for 50 per cent capacity,” he told SEN.
“If we can get to that I reckon we would get by.”
Geelong chose to play the game at GMHBA because of a home-ground advantage and to keep players and their families together before next week’s trip to Brisbane.
Should the state government allow a GMHBA crowd, Cook said he expected it to be made up solely of people who live in regional areas and IDs would be checked on entry.
Cook said a lesser crowd cap, such as 25 per cent, would be “not a great help for us”.
“It means a lot to us to get a crowd here, if we don’t get a crowd here it will affect us somewhere between $500,000 and $800-900,000,” Cook said.
Reeves has already accepted the Hawks will suffer a financial hit with the venue switch, but they are crossing their fingers for a potential sellout at UTAS Stadium.
“We haven’t had a big game like this with two big Melbourne clubs (in Launceston) for a long time,” Reeves told SEN.
“It’s not a huge stadium, but if we could sell it out – 18,000 to 20,000; probably 18,000 with four days’ notice is about right – I think that would be a great result.
“I don’t think (Melbourne fans can travel) at the moment but that could change … but I know the government yesterday (Monday) said they’re going to work through things in the next day or so to see what that looks like.”
Reeves said any changes would depend on the number of daily coronavirus cases in Victoria but they had “a little bit of hope” Hawthorn’s Victorian members could make the trip.
“We do have 10,000 members in Tassie who will be pretty keen to see us come down there,” he said.
“Then there will be Essendon supporters in Tassie, for sure, who will be really keen to get to the game.”
The Hawks were bracing for the game to be relocated before Monday’s announcement, given club officials were in regular dialogue with the Victorian and Tasmanian governments.
“We had to be ready and although it’s not ideal, for us getting to (go) to Tassie is not a bad result, in light of no crowds in Melbourne,” Reeves said.
“This is not something we planned for. Essendon v Hawthorn at the MCG, as a home game for us, is one of the biggest ones for the year, so there is a financial implication.
“But over the last 18 months, we’ve had to adapt and you can never bank on anything at the moment, that’s for sure.”
Has Covid caution ruined another AFL blockbuster?
– Jon Ralph
Melbourne faces another bleak weekend without AFL games.
With crowds being locked out of the league’s Victorian matches this weekend, the AFL has confirmed two games will be shifted to Tasmania.
And Friday night’s blockbuster between Geelong and the Western Bulldogs will go ahead behind closed doors at GMHBA Stadium.
North Melbourne’s clash against the Brisbane Lions, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, has been relocated from Marvel Stadium to Blundstone Arena in Hobart due to a combination of border restrictions and the inability for members and supporters to attend.
And the clash between old rivals Hawthorn and Essendon on Sunday afternoon has been moved from the MCG to UTAS Stadium in Launceston.
The AFL said the decision to move the Hawks-Bombers game was made in consultation with each club to allow for members and fans in Launceston to attend the match.
The AFL, North, Hawthorn and Essendon have all agreed to “strict travel arrangements and other protocols “as set out by the Tasmanian Government and the teams will fly-in and fly-out for the matches on both Saturday and Sunday on charter planes.
The Lions don’t face the same protocols as they are flying into Tasmania from their base in Queensland.
Kangaroos chief executive Ben Amarfio said the club felt it had no choice but to relocate to Tasmania for this weekend’s match.
“Covid has taken a lot of decisions out of our hands and we have no choice but to try and capitalise on this latest fixture change and ensure the impact is minimal on our club,” Amarfio said.
“Our membership services team will look at making some additional benefits available, including merchandise vouchers and additional guest passes to our remaining home games.”
Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves said the club would have preferred to face its traditional rival at the MCG, but moving the match to Tasmania was the best result for the club.
“While it is disappointing that we are unable to play our Round 14 match against Essendon at the ‘G as fixtured, the decision to relocate this match to Tasmania is the best result we could have hoped for given current Covid-19 restrictions in Victoria,” Reeves said.
“By taking the match to Tasmania we are able to bring an exciting match to our Tasmanian members and fans and play in front of a crowd.”
In a massive blow to Geelong’s hip pocket, the top-four clash between the Cats and the Bulldogs will be played at an empty GMHBA Stadium with no crowds permitted based on the current health advice from the Victorian Government.
The AFL said the decision to continue to play the match with no crowd at GMHBA Stadium had been made in consultation with the home team and the preference was “not to move the game”.
The Cats said they decided against moving the match interstate given their Round 15 match was a Thursday night game in Brisbane.
AFL executive general manager of clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld said the league’s priority continued to be the health and safety of the community.
“While it is disappointing we are unable to host games in front of crowds in Victoria during Round 14, we hope the situation continues to trend favourably so we can welcome back members and supporters as soon as possible,” Auld said.
“The decision to relocate two games to Hobart and Launceston, was made in close consultation with each respective home team and the Tasmanian Government having regard to the broader connection each home club has in Tasmania and to allow for members and supporters in Tasmania to attend the games.
“The Geelong Cats versus Western Bulldogs match will continue to be played at GMHBA Stadium with no crowds as per current Victorian Government advice – the decision to continue to play this match at GMHBA Stadium was made in consultation with the home team and was in line with their preference not to move the game.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation in Victoria and work with the Victorian Government and other state and territory governments, with the fixture remaining a week-to-week proposition for now.
“We thank everyone in the game for their patience and understanding as we worked through finalising arrangements for Round 14.
“On behalf of the AFL I would like to thank the respective State Governments, each Club, players, the AFLPA, umpires, broadcast partners, venues and all football fans for their continued patience and understanding as we all continue to navigate through the pandemic.”
Earlier, it was believed the AFL and Melbourne Cricket Club had been working together on a submission that would request Melbourne crowds of 20-30 per cent capacity.
That scaled-back submission came after strong advice from the Victorian government it was still worried about undetected Covid positives in the state and would not allow half-full stadiums.
The MCC is desperate to get crowds at Sunday’s Hawthorn-Essendon game as it builds to a pair of quality MCG clashes in Round 15.
Richmond hosts St Kilda on Friday night and Essendon hosts Melbourne in that round.
The MCC was hopeful even a small crowd of 20 per cent would get the ball rolling with up to 50 per cent crowds the following week.
Melbourne went from being guaranteed $1 million in gate takings for Monday’s Queen’s Birthday to it being shifted to the SCG, with the Demons receiving around $300,000 in a commercial deal.
WILL ANOTHER Covid WAVE MOVE THE GRAND FINAL?
– Rebecca Williams
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan says the league will not hold the Grand Final at an empty MCG.
But McLachlan says the league is confident the AFL’s showpiece game will not be moved away from the MCG for a second year running.
Optus Stadium showcased the potential for a Grand Final at the Perth venue with a packed crowd for the Dreamtime in the West game between Essendon and Richmond.
The latest Covid scare in Melbourne made clear the league is far from out of the woods as it navigates football through a pandemic.
McLachlan said on Friday if another Covid wave hit Melbourne during finals the league would again put the game up for interstate bidders.
He told 3AW the state’s ability to contain the current shutdown to two weeks – with no Covid positives on Friday – gave him optimism about the Grand Final in Melbourne.
“The Grand Final is going to be at the MCG. It’s a zero (positives) day. And I think we are all feeling confident today. In the very unlikely event somehow that wasn’t possible we would do what we did last year and open it up (to rival states). Everyone has seen the stadium in WA is truly world class and we know the West Australians love their footy.
“No, I don’t want to play a Grand final without a crowd. I don’t like playing games without it. Our game is spectacular and it’s better with people there.”
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Originally published as AFL Covid-19 news: State Government reveals crowd to be allowed at Cats v Dogs; what’s next for MCG?
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