Geelong and Richmond waiting on government approval over Ablett, Edwards quarantine plan
Rivals will become training partners under a plan devised between Geelong and Richmond to get Shane Edwards and Gary Ablett into Queensland ahead of the finals — but there is one hurdle left to clear.
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BOTH Gary Ablett and Shane Edwards are ready and keen to fly to Queensland as soon as possible as Geelong and Richmond wait for government approval to quarantine together.
Instead of waiting for the AFL’s final plane into Queensland on September 1, the Cats and Tigers have mapped out a return for their veteran stars in a bid to get them back on field well in advance of finals.
The duo and their families would quarantine together with a medical staffer and a coach on the Gold Coast and train together for 14 days before they could join their respective clubs.
A space for Ablett and Edwards to train together is yet to be locked in.
A flight and accommodation has been sorted, with all parties now waiting on final approval from the Queensland government before flying north.
Richmond has a bye in Round 16, meaning Edwards would only be able to play the final two matches of the home-and-away season before finals, while the Cats hope Ablett will clear quarantine and be available to face Essendon on September 6, if approval is given in coming days.
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After training together for two weeks, the pair could reunite when Geelong and Richmond face off in Round 17.
Should both players be forced to wait to join the AFL’s transition hub on September 1, they wouldn’t be able to play until the final round of the season.
Geelong general manager of football Simon Lloyd said the AFL was “positive” about the plan and it was now in the hands of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government.
“Both are ready and we’ve obviously got a lot of our plans on hold pending the approval so it would be then a matter of just executing those plans and us and Richmond are working very closely on that,” he said.
“We’re waiting. Gary and his family are super keen to return to the high performance centre and Gary is desperate to get back and play football and I’m sure Shane is probably the same, so we are exploring all options and working with the AFL to make it happen.”
Richmond head coach Damien Hardwick said he was hopeful of gaining approval and getting Edwards back into the side.
“From a priority point of view, it is probably not on their high-list of agenda items at the moment, but the government has been terrific for us allowing us to play up here,” Hardwick said.
“I can give you the latest date which is the September 1 flight, but anything earlier than that we are certainly in the Queensland government’s hands and anything they can do we are certainly appreciative of.”
Ablett, 36, travelled with Geelong to its Perth hub earlier this year but returned home following Round 7 so be with his family as his son Levi battles a degenerative condition.
His wife Jordan was also caring for her mother, who passed away earlier this month.
Dual premiership player Edwards, 31, decided not to travel with his team in July and instead stay at home with his wife Sam, who was heavily pregnant.
She has since given birth to a daughter, Mya.
“From our point of view (Edwards) will come back and play. He has been doing a power of training back at home after the birth of his child, he is in really good nick,” Hardwick said.
“We spoke to our Melbourne hub yesterday and they are really impressed with the way that he is going. We think once again he slots into our side as soon as the iso period is finished. He is such an important player, All-Australian, one of our better players, so he would have an immediate impact we think.”
In his final season, Ablett has been adamant he wanted to be part of the campaign for his third premiership and Lloyd said the champion was keen to play a pivotal role.
“Whether it’s Round 1 or at the business end, Gary always plays to have an impact,” Lloyd said.
“We’re well aware of the situation with finals and the team is playing well but also we want to give Gary the best opportunity to prepare for the rigours of an AFL finals campaign.”
Originally published as Geelong and Richmond waiting on government approval over Ablett, Edwards quarantine plan