AFL: Bulldog quarantined amid AFL Covid-19 chaos

A coffee in a cafe near his home has forced one Western Bulldogs star into 14 days of isolation as the AFL scrambles to change its fixture.

Josh Dunkley is in isolation. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Just days after his comeback game, Western Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley has been forced into 14 days of home quarantine after visiting a tier 1 coronavirus exposure site last week.

Dunkley, who played for the Bulldogs at Metricon Stadium on Saturday, on July 14 visited his local cafe, which was later declared an exposure site.

He was contacted on Sunday by the Department of Health, and his mandatory quarantine period begins from the day he attended the site.

Since July 14, Dunkley has received two separate negative coronavirus test results.

The entire Bulldogs travelling party also received a negative result during their trip to the Gold Coast as part of the AFL’s testing regimen.

Dunkley is complying with quarantine requirements and will be unavailable for this weekend’s round 19 match, while the rest of the Bulldogs squad will continue their preparations as normal.

Josh Dunkley has been directed by the Victorian Department of Health to undergo 14 days of home quarantine, after visiting a Tier 1 coronavirus exposure site last week.https://t.co/3ti9ipqNn3

— Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) July 19, 2021

It comes after 15 players and staff members from the Sydney Swans and GWS were forced into isolation after attending last week’s Wallabies Test match against France in Melbourne.

They were in an area of Melbourne’s AAMI Park that has since been reclassified as a tier 2 exposure site by the Victorian government - meaning test and isolate until recording a negative result.

Three Swans and two Giants players had to be called up just hours before the match on Sunday night when a Covid reclassification forced five players from the two teams into isolation.

Sydney’s Callum Mills, Harry Cunningham and Colin O’Riordan as well as Giants players Toby Greene and Matt de Boer had to pull out of the game.

They could face longer on the sidelines, with Queensland government directives saying the players and officials must quarantine for 14 days.

“Each of these players and staff members, currently located in Queensland and under Queensland Department of Health requirements, must isolate until notified by the department,” the AFL said in a statement.

GWS coach Leon Cameron said he’d “heard whispers” the AFL could pause the competition to get on top of the quarantine and bubble situation.

“I’ve heard some whispers about that. Whatever the AFL put in front of us, it’s in the best interest of everyone,” he said.

When you’re locked in your room having to isolate and these are the ads you get on your phone. Absolute stitch up pic.twitter.com/KpgQUNb9Tg

— Jake Stein (@jakestein42) July 19, 2021

The sharp spike in Covid cases and exposure sites in Victoria has posed a serious challenge for league chiefs who are determined to get through the season but will likely need to switch up some of the match-ups in the run home.

Clubs have been told they will play the same five teams they were originally scheduled to play, but the order of those games could change.

The AFL has brought forward the season’s second QClash. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Fixture change

On Monday evening, the AFL announced dramatic changes to the weekend’s fixture.

The AFL announced that three games (Gold Coast Suns vs. Melbourne, Western Bulldogs vs. Adelaide Crows and Hawthorn vs. Brisbane Lions) that had been due to take place this weekend would instead be pushed back until round 20.

The move brings three round 20 games forward to this weekend (Brisbane Lions vs. Gold Coast Suns, Adelaide Crows vs. Hawthorn and Melbourne Western Bulldogs).

The three newly scheduled round 19 games will take place at The Gabba, Adelaide Oval and MCG, respectively.

The AFL’s executive general manager of clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld said the AFL would continue to amend its schedule in response to the country’s rapidly evolving Covid situation.

“We will continue to make changes that best manage the current environment, progresses our season and protects the health and safety of those in our game and the wider community,” Auld said.

“While the Round in which some matches will be played has changed, our intention remains to complete the home-and-away season with the matchups as originally scheduled.

“The pandemic will continue to challenge us over the coming weeks and, as an industry, we will band together and remain adaptable as we navigate those challenges.

“As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will work closely with respective State and Territory Governments, all AFL Clubs and other key stakeholders while ensuring the health and safety of the community remains paramount.”

The AFL has locked in venues for eight of the weekend’s nine games, with the location of Sunday’s clash between Essendon and GWS still yet to be confirmed.

Originally published as AFL: Bulldog quarantined amid AFL Covid-19 chaos