Sydney to fight for return of Cost of Living Allowance for younger players amid COVID-19 crisis

Sydney wants the controversial Cost of Living Allowance to be reintroduced amid the coronavirus crisis after players agreed to hefty pay cuts during the AFL’s shutdown period.

COLA was abolished after Lance Franklin’s mega move to the Swans. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The Swans are ready to fight for lower-earning Sydney players to receive more protection for living in Australia’s most expensive city should savage AFL salary cuts push them to the brink.

An agreement struck between the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association has determined that player wages will be slashed by 70 per cent if the competition doesn’t resume on June 1.

Mechanisms have reportedly been included to protect players at the bottom of the food chain, but the Swans have got on the front foot to call for the cost of living in Sydney to be taken into consideration, out of fear it could ultimately cost them players if not addressed.

Sydney has fought a long losing battle against the AFL over the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), in the face of fierce lobbying from jealous Melbourne clubs.

But Swans chief executive Tom Harley says the potential for the coronavirus crisis to impact on a players’ ability to even remain living in Sydney, is something he’s ready to take up with the AFL and AFLPA if required.

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COLA was abolished after Lance Franklin’s mega move to the Swans. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“It’s important that the lower end players are supported through this and certainly at the Swans, we would advocate pretty strongly for those players who may be subject to pay cuts up to the point where it really impacts their ability to stay in Sydney,” Harley said.

“That’s extremely important for us. So we will advocate for that and as clubs we’ll see the detailed information of the breakdown of the (AFL/PA) deal that was struck.

“I’m sure there are opportunities to have those discussions. The player deal has been very much done between the AFL and the players’ association. After the detail of that is presented to the clubs, we’ll work through that as we need to. But acknowledge that our situation is a little different.”

Harley has described the past week as among the most difficult he’s encountered in 20 years in the AFL.

The Swans have a number of issues to work through including:

— How the COVID-19 crisis might affect its advanced plans for a new high performance home at the Royal Hall of Industries (RHI).

— Whether they’d be prepared to relocate to the home ground of arch rivals’ GWS Giants at Sydney Olympic Park should the AFL season continue into October and clash with cricket at the SCG.

GWS's home ground would be the only AFL venue available to the Swans if the 2020 season plays out later than expected. Picture: Getty

Harley stressed the only priority for the Swans at the moment is the impact the AFL shutdown has had on Swans people, but those longer-term impacts are starting to come onto the radar.

It’s impossible to know at this stage how the rest of the season will play out, but Giants Stadium is the only other venue available to the Swans in Sydney once the cricket World Cup kicks-off in mid-October.

“That would be it,” Harley said.

Harley said it’s too early to tell whether the RHI project would need to be put on hold, however, the club is conscious of the impact the coronavirus was having across all industries and Government.

“Clearly the economy more broadly has changed and we need to obviously change with that,” he said.

“ … The RHI is a huge priority for us, however, we’ve clearly got things to work through due to the changed landscape of the world.”

Harley praised the leadership of coach John Longmire at one of the most trying times in the game’s history.

“He’s personally involved in every aspect of the club. He’s got kids in the academy. We’re fortunate to have someone like him and he’s playing the role that you would expect him to play,” Harley said.

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Originally published as Sydney to fight for return of Cost of Living Allowance for younger players amid COVID-19 crisis