Round 1 of AFL season to go ahead as planned despite COVID-19 cases in Sydney and Brisbane

The AFL has been forced to look at its Round 1 fixture just days out from the start of the season due to COVID cases in Sydney and Brisbane. Here’s what will happen.

The first AFL game without fans in 2020.

The AFL will march on as planned with Round 1 of its men’s competition despite COVID community transmission in both Brisbane and Sydney over the weekend.

Brisbane’s women’s team was forced to fly to Melbourne to take on Collingwood on Sunday instead of hosting that clash before returning to the state on the same day.

But critically there are no plans to shut borders in and out of Queensland despite a doctor testing positive in a case of community transmission in Brisbane on Saturday.

The Lions play Sydney at home in Round 1 of the AFL competition, while Gold Coast takes on West Coast in Perth in a Sunday twilight clash.

At present the Queensland border is open to WA, meaning the Suns are free to fly into the state for that Round 1 clash.

Gold Coast is confident it will be able to fly to Perth but is aware it will know more about potential border restrictions in the next 48 hours as Brisbane’s case numbers emerge.

The Suns have been in regular contact with the AFL but have not even been told to restrict training programs so are hopeful the case will not prevent them from a late-week flight to Perth.

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At this stage Brisbane and Gold Coast’s Round 1 matches will go ahead as planned. Picture: Getty

But the AFL will be closely monitoring the actions of the McGowan state government, which on Saturday night won a crushing election victory that was fuelled in part by its closed-borders stance.

WA is to label Victoria a “very low risk” state at 12.01am on Monday, meaning the state government will drop most border restrictions.

It will allow West Coast and Fremantle to fly back into Perth without a 14-day quarantine period after they take on Victorian rivals in coming weeks.

In NSW on Sunday the state’s 55-day streak of no community transmissions was broken when a quarantine worker tested positive.

But in both cases authorities are confident the virus has not spread, which will likely avoid the kind of five-day lockdowns which sees borders shut between states.

Brisbane’s men’s AFL team has not been placed on standby to fly out of the state and players have not had to be subjected to harsher restrictions about their lifestyles.

The Lions travelled last week by charter plane to Canberra but on Sunday took a commercial flight to Melbourne.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said on Saturday the league was still expecting some level of disruption this season due to the influence of COVID.

75,000 Collingwood and Carlton fans could be allowed into the MCG for their Round 2 clash. Picture: Getty

But as AFL football boss Steve Hocking revealed in the Herald Sun in February, the AFL will do everything in its power to stop players being forced into months-long hubs.

The league has no indication that the state government will raise the maximum capacity of Melbourne venues despite private lobbying about venues including the MCG hosting as many as 65,000 fans for Round 1.

The state government would need to change its COVID settings, ask the league to prepare a COVID-safe plan, then have the chief health officer approve that plan before Wednesday.

But by Round 2’s Carlton-Collingwood Friday night contest there is a real possibility of up to 75,000 MCG fans if the virus remains in check.

COVID CASES FORCE LAST-MINUTE AFLW FIXTURE CHANGE

The AFL has moved a women’s game from Brisbane to Melbourne as it closely monitors the Queensland COVID situation ahead of the men’s opening round next weekend.

Brisbane had been set to host Collingwood at Hickey Park on Sunday but the league switched the AFLW match to Whitten Oval after a community coronavirus case emerged in the Queensland capital on Friday night.

The Lions-Magpies game will start at 3.10pm and no spectators will be allowed due to the timing of the venue change.

Any rise in case numbers in Brisbane may prompt more fixture changes, given the Lions are set to host a double-header at the Gabba on Saturday.

Brisbane plays Sydney in Round 1 of the men’s competition after the Lions’ women take on North Melbourne.

Gold Coast’s AFLW side is at home to Carlton on Friday and the Suns’ men are due to open their season against West Coast in Perth next Sunday.

An AFL spokeswoman said the league would “continue to closely monitor the situation”.

“The health and safety of those in our game and the wider community remains the priority,” the spokeswoman said.

Collingwood will face Brisbane on the Western Bulldog’s home deck – Whitten Oval. Picture: Getty Images

The league has plenty of experience in dealing with changing fixtures at short notice after a 2020 replete with hubs, border closures and lockdowns due to the pandemic.

Almost 12 months to the day, the AFLW was abandoned without the season being completed when coronavirus swept across Australia.

But league officials were committed to finishing the 2021 campaign and crowning a premier.

Moving Sunday’s Round 7 game would reduce disruption to the competition if Brisbane went into lockdown overnight.

AFL women’s football general manager Nicole Livingstone said the Lions would fly into Melbourne on Sunday and return home that night.

She said the league would continue to take the advice of governments and health officials.

“We remain committed to delivering a full season in a safe manner,” Livingstone said.

“On behalf of the AFL, I want to thank both clubs, players and the AFLPA, umpires, venues, governments, ticket agents, supporters and our broadcast and commercial partners for their understanding and continued support.”

Originally published as Round 1 of AFL season to go ahead as planned despite COVID-19 cases in Sydney and Brisbane