AFL Covid latest: Unvaccinated players to face many obstacles in order to play next season
Even without a league mandate, new AFL Covid management boss Laura Kane believes players understand they must be vaccinated to play next year.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The AFL’s new vaccination policy will not mandate player vaccinations but the league believes players will overwhelmingly follow health advice to allow the league to continue next year.
The league is expected to unveil its official policy next week after briefing the AFL Commission next Monday about the progress of its regulations.
Watch Fox Footy’s massive line-up of Grand Final week coverage on Kayo including live pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage with full analysis from the best team in the business. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free >
There is a view among clubs the 2022 season might be more challenging than this year given the flood of Covid into the community that will see players testing positive as restrictions ease.
The Herald Sun understands the league will have a lengthy list of rules that will allow vaccinated players freedoms that unvaccinated players will not be able to access.
While there is the possibility of fines for breaches for unvaccinated players, complying with those lengthy guidelines will be extremely difficult if unvaccinated.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan admitted the league’s challenges would continue into next year and ahead of the coming AFLW season given the pandemic still had a year or more to run.
New AFL competition management boss Laura Kane has a portfolio that includes Covid management after spearheading the vaccination of the entire Kangaroos football department in her role at the club.
She believes players understand they must be vaccinated to play next year even if there is not a league-wide mandate.
“I think there’s a way to go,” she said of an AFL mandate.
“We are just encouraging people to get vaccinated on their own accord.
“I think the competition understands the positive impact our game has on people at home and it’s not lost on us that we have been able to continue working, continue training, continue our jobs every day to really make people happy. To that end people understand the responsibility they have to encourage everyone to get vaccinations, and hopeful keep the show going on.”
In the NFL there are weekly Covid testing for vaccinated players and staff but daily testing for unvaccinated players, including on days off.
If an unvaccinated player misses tests they cannot enter the facility without five days of negative tests.
Players who return a positive test need to have two negative tests 24 hours apart but unvaccinated players who test positive must quarantine for at least 10 days.
Unvaccinated players cannot gather in groups of more than three players outside the club or while travelling, cannot leave team hotels to eat at restaurants, cannot mingle with the public while on the road in cities.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said yesterday players were on board with vaccinations.
“When I have spoken to players, they are all (keen to be) vaccinated and want to get back to their way of life,” he said.
“They see the path forward to normality and they see the framework laid out and many of our players are already vaccinated.”
Careers on the line in AFL’s vaccination debate
The AFL will stop short of introducing a mandatory vaccination policy next season but government and business rules will effectively make it impossible for players to compete without having being jabbed.
The league is expected to unveil its official policy in coming weeks and will brief the AFL Commission on Monday about the progress of its regulations for players and officials.
While Essendon’s Conor McKenna is the only AFL player to test positive for Covid-19, that number is likely to increase next year as the country begins to open up.
Players will emerge from hubs and bubbles at the end of this season and be exposed to communities that have higher case numbers — as the population hits 80 per cent vaccination rates and governments relax restrictions to learn to live with the virus.
The Herald Sun understands the league will have a lengthy list of rules that will allow vaccinated players freedoms that unvaccinated players will not be able to access.
While there is the possibility of fines for breaches for unvaccinated players, complying with those lengthy guidelines will be extremely difficult if unvaccinated.
Sydney, St Kilda, Richmond, West Coast and North Melbourne are among clubs quickly getting most of their players vaccinated now they are out of finals contention.
The rules will be in place by the time clubs return to pre-season training.
Players at teams who missed finals or lost an elimination final are due back on November 22 (1-4 year players) or December 6 (five-plus year players), while the rest of the finalists are due back on November 9 (1-4 year players) or December 6 (five-plus year players)
As one football boss said yesterday: “The impact will be so great that everyone will get it done otherwise it will be too hard to play.”
In the NFL there are weekly Covid testing for vaccinated players and staff but daily testing for unvaccinated players, including on days off.
If an unvaccinated player misses tests they cannot enter the facility without five days of negative tests.
Players who return a positive test need to have two negative tests 24 hours apart but unvaccinated players who test positive must quarantine for at least 10 days.
Unvaccinated players cannot gather in groups of more than three players outside the club or while travelling, cannot leave team hotels to eat at restaurants, cannot mingle with the public while on the road in cities.
Unvaccinated players are subject to significant fines for refusal to wear masks, for going to nightclubs or bars with more than 10 people, for going to indoor concerts, for attending house gatherings with more than 15 people.
It was expected airlines might require passengers to be fully vaccinated to fly but the AFL’s official airline said on Wednesday it had not foreshadowed any plans to require passengers to require vaccination to travel on Virgin flights
The airline said it was supportive of government-led measures to ensure travellers are vaccinated.
More Coverage
Originally published as AFL Covid latest: Unvaccinated players to face many obstacles in order to play next season
AFL great’s heartbreaking family revelation
A successful footy player and coach, the Carlton great has opened up about his daughter’s debilitating health battle.
Revealed: Blues’ plot to nab top-3 pick in another trade stunner
Eyebrows were raised when Carlton acquired Hawthorn’s pick 14 on Friday. Now their plan to hunt one of the top underage midfielders in the country in this year’s draft can be revealed.