AFL 2021: Stranded loved ones of the Swans and Giants to be reunited in Victoria
Families and partners of NSW AFL teams have finally been cleared to leave quarantine and rejoin their loved ones in Victoria. FULL ROUND 21 FIXTURE
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The Swans and Giants will have an emotional reunion with families and partners in Melbourne within days after more than six weeks apart.
Loved ones of players and staff were informed on Tuesday night they would be able to fly out of Brisbane on Thursday night, once their two weeks of quarantine expire.
The Queensland government ordered a snap Covid-19 lockdown in the state’s southeast on Saturday, which saw the two Sydney clubs flee for Melbourne at short notice.
It was the third time the Swans and Giants have switched temporary bases in the six weeks since they left virus-riddled Sydney behind, thinking they would be home not long after.
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The weekend situation created a complication for the stranded families, partners, staff and two Giants players – Bobby Hill and Braydon Preuss – who feared they may have to serve another quarantine period.
But the AFL negotiated with the Victorian government for them to avoid that unwanted fate, observing the same ‘sterile corridor’ adopted to move clubs between states.
The group of more than 100 will instead be transported on Thursday by bus from the Brisbane hotel they are staying at, then flown by charter flight to Melbourne.
Strict conditions must be followed, including returning a negative coronavirus result before boarding the flight and not coming into contact with the Queensland community.
The government is believed to have placed a number of stipulations on the exemption to safeguard the Victorian public.
They will be tested again on arrival in Victoria and need to isolate until they return another negative result, which may not be until Friday.
After that, the quarantined crew will be free to join the Swans and Giants camps in Melbourne, ending a period of uncertainty and frustration.
It was an extensive process to reach this stage, with the AFL hiring quarantine expert Aspen Medical to oversee the Brisbane hotel the families stayed in.
They had restricted access to those outside of their hotel level – after an initial period in hard lockdown, where they couldn’t leave their rooms – and were unable to use the pool or gym.
Another double-header in Round 21 rollout
The AFL has locked in a Friday night home game for Geelong and has scheduled a Marvel Stadium double-header on Saturday as part of its revised Round 21 fixture released on Monday afternoon.
The league confirmed that the Adelaide-Port Adelaide Showdown would be played at 7.40pm (EST) at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night as well as slotting in a Monday night game in Perth between West Coast and Melbourne.
Geelong will take on Greater Western Sydney at GMHBA to kickstart the round on Friday night.
Carlton will tackle Gold Coast at Marvel at 1.45pm Saturday and then the ground will host a night match between St Kilda and Sydney.
“While the fixture remains a week-to-week proposition, we will continue to make changes that best navigate the current environment,” AFL executive general manager clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld said.
Fixture latest: How Covid scramble reshapes Round 21
Geelong and Greater Western Sydney look set to take centre stage on Friday night as the league lobbies hard to reunite the Sydney-based players with their families this week.
The partners and children of the Giants and Swans players and staff have been left behind in Queensland only days out from completing their 14-day hotel quarantine stints.
The two Sydney teams flew out of Queensland in a hurry on Saturday afternoon and look set to be based in Melbourne for the rest of the regular season, but are eager to reunite with their families.
The families are scheduled to emerge from quarantine on Thursday and will hope they can fly to Melbourne without having to undergo a second-straight quarantine stint in Victoria which would could see them locked up for a month.
High-level talks between league and government officials were ongoing on Sunday to lock in more favourable arrangements to help ease the increasing stress and burden on the players’ families.
AFL general manager of clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld said the league was hopeful of delivering a good outcome for them this week.
“We have already commenced discussions with the Victorian Government about how we might move them directly from quarantine (in Queensland) into Victoria given they have been in hotel quarantine,” Auld told the Herald Sun.
“They have been tested quite a number of times and haven’t entered the community during this period, but as always we won’t get ahead of Government with those conversations and will work with them over the next four days.
“We have a level of confidence we can reunite them with their partners, subject to those further discussions.”
The Cats and Giants clash is likely to be scheduled in front of empty stands again at GMHBA Stadium in the marquee slot, replacing the Essendon and Western Bulldogs’ game that was originally scheduled for Friday night.
Cats’ superstar Jeremy Cameron remains unlikely to be selected for the clash against his old side as he works back from his third hamstring injury.
The Bombers and Bulldogs were originally slotted to kick off Round 21 on Friday night as Essendon attempts to pull off a remarkable finals berth.
But the Bombers were ruled out of the prime time position once their Round 20 game against Sydney was moved back to Sunday, leaving Ben Rutten’s men with their second five-day break of the season.
An AFLPA agreement does not allow teams to have more than one five-day break in a season, meaning the Bombers have to play the Bulldogs on Saturday at the earliest.
The Bombers already had a five-day break leading into their three-point loss to Sydney in Round 4 and the league was unable to change the five-day break agreement for a Western Bulldogs’ game against Sydney last month.
Melbourne is set to take on West Coast on Monday night after a week of quarantine in the west. The Demons were scheduled to fly out on Monday after belting Gold Coast on Sunday.
The Demons will have permission to leave their quarantine facilities in Perth to be able to train together as necessary.
Brisbane is also set to fly west to take on Fremantle at Perth Stadium, most likely in the late game on Sunday.
Hawthorn is set to host Collingwood in Launceston and the AFL could shift the Richmond vs North Melbourne battle at the MCG to Sunday.
The Hawks clash will see Alastair Clarkson take on the club which is trying to court him for its senior coaching vacancy.
Melbourne players were in a plane from 9am to 4.30pm on Saturday as they touched down in Brisbane then returned home.
The Demons were left on the tarmac for about two hours as the plane refuelled but were allowed to unbuckle their seat belts and move around the plane.
The door of the plane was opened to allow some fresh air to circulate while they waited.
But the long seven-hour slog may have taken a toll on one of Melbourne’s most important players.
Key forward Tom McDonald failed to finish the game on Sunday with a sore back and will seek treatment before he steps on the plane again to Perth.
Gold Coast is set to remain in Melbourne ahead of its clash against Carlton.
The Adelaide versus Port Adelaide showdown will be staged at Adelaide Oval and St Kilda is scheduled to host Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium.
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The AFL has tapped into Essendon’s bid to make a rare finals appearance by handing Ben Rutten’s side a Friday night blockbuster against the Western Bulldogs next week.
The league’s Round 21 fixture will see the AFL using its newly established Queensland corridor to bring Essendon back to Melbourne after weeks away in Noosa.
Collingwood will also make a rare trip to Tasmania to take on Hawthorn at 2.10pm on Sunday after the AFL ruled out crowds for Rounds 20 and 21.
The Cats will be upset their request to move a game from a crowdless MCG against Richmond to GMHBA Stadium fell on deaf ears while Hawthorn secured a relocated game.
But the Hawks are keen to make up games they missed in Tasmania last year and will be hoping for the maximum 10,000 permitted fans as the Pies play in the state for premiership points for the first time.
The league has locked in six games but a trio of Saturday contests still do not have a timeslot.
The AFL is hopeful of playing the Carlton vs Gold Coast contest at Marvel Stadium in the early slot, with the Suns a chance of flying into Melbourne on Friday night.
Richmond vs North Melbourne (MCG) and Geelong vs GWS Giants (GMHBA Stadium) are the other Saturday fixtures.
The opening of the Victoria-Queensland sterile corridor allows GWS, Gold Coast and Sydney to all fly into Melbourne for clashes that will require a level of quarantine before and after games.
Brisbane and Melbourne will both be in Western Australia for a week of quarantine, with the Lions at Joondalup Resort but the Demons in hotel quarantine without the level of freedom of Chris Fagan’s side.
The league is now confident it will finish the home-and-away season on schedule after the Tasmania and Queensland corridors were established.
Adelaide and Port Adelaide will return home from this weekend’s games to play a Crows home Showdown in Round 21, with the first bounce at 7.10pm local time.
The league is yet to officially confirm the game is at Adelaide Oval as it does not have state government approval, but the expectation is the game will be at that venue.
Fixture boss Travis Auld said the league was thrilled to be able to schedule Showdown 50 despite border issues.
“We thank the Queensland Government for enabling teams currently based in Queensland to travel to – and play matches – in Victoria, in line with protocols approved by the Queensland Government.
“There are some key match-ups in Round 21 that will shape the top eight as we near the completion of the home-and-away season,” he said.
“We are pleased Showdown 50 between the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide will take place at Adelaide Oval and we are looking forward to celebrating the annual Pride Game between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans, building on each club’s connection and commitment to the LGBTIQA+ community.
“While the fixture for the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season remains a week-to-week proposition, we will continue to make changes that best navigate the current environment, progresses our season and helps protect the health and safety of those in our game and the wider community.”
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