Covid rule changes: AFLW players urged to avoid Covid risks
The AFL has tightened Covid guidelines on women’s players just hours from the start of the season as the Omicron variant’s grip on the season strengthens.
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The AFL has tightened Covid guidelines on women’s players just hours from the start of the season as the Omicron variant’s grip on the season strengthens.
The protocols are in response to the increasing spread of Covid - particularly in Victoria and New South Wales - which has seen a number of players forced into isolation for this weekend’s games.
The league has recommended that players and essential club staff are expected not to attend indoor events with over 100 people and should avoid socialising with other AFLW players and staff at home.
It comes as North Melbourne skipper Emma Kearney was ruled out of Saturday’s clash with Geelong after testing positive to Covid this week.
Players and staff must obtain approval from their club if they wish to attend a wedding, funeral or cultural or religious ceremony where more than 100 people are present.
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They are also being asked to not attend outdoor events where social distancing cannot be maintained, such as concerts or major sporting events.
The league has also reminded players that high density locations such as shopping centres present as high risk locations.
The protocols have been supported by the AFL Players’ Association and AFL women’s football boss Nicole Livingstone said it was an important step in an effort to safeguard the season.
“Our community is facing a challenging time in the life of this on-going covid pandemic. As we begin our season tonight the revised protocols have been introduced as a precautionary measure to safeguard our players, coaches, officials and the wider community,” Livingstone said.
“We cannot wait to get the season started and trust that everyone understands in order to continue to play, we all must be really vigilant to minimise the risks for players, their families and the broader community.’
“On behalf of the AFL I want to thank our players, officials and everyone involved in getting us to this point and our importantly our thanks and appreciation to all the health, essential and frontline workers who are working so hard and putting their own health at risk to keep community safe.
“The challenges in the community right now are well documented but that isn’t stopping our excitement and anticipation for tonight. Our preparation and planning has been thorough and we feel really confident we will deliver one of the best seasons of women’s footy of all time.”
The new rules will be reviewed in two weeks’ time.
The league on Thursday confirmed to the Herald Sun that players would no longer be required to undergo PCR testing in the lead-up to games, with players and club officials set to undertake rapid antigen tests before entering the ground.
The season will begin on Friday night when St Kilda hosts Richmond at Frankston.
VIRUS BACKFLIP: AFLW MAKES HUGE COVID TESTING CALL
AFL Women’s players will no longer undergo PCR tests before games.
The league had this week confirmed that all players and club officials would be required to undergo the traditional test for Covid-19 in the lead-up to all premiership matches this season, with the samples tested in private laboratories so as to not have any impact on the community system.
But News Corp can reveal that the AFL has shifted away from the regime in favour of rapid antigen tests, in keeping with new federal government guidelines that favour the quicker option which return a result in under 15 minutes.
North Melbourne skipper Emma Kearney remains in isolation ahead of her team’s opening round clash with Geelong on Saturday after returning two positive rapid antigen tests this week.
The Roos will name their team at 5pm on Friday, with Kearney’s isolation period understood to end at midnight on Friday.
The club had been hopeful she would be cleared to play. If not, it would be the first match she has missed since joining the AFLW as a foundation player in 2017.
And in a cross-club twist, her partner — St Kilda player Kate Shierlaw — has been forced out of Friday night’s clash with Richmond due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
Under the league’s new testing plan, players and officials will be provided with a testing kit to complete immediately before entering any AFLW ground.
Any positive result on a RAT would immediately preclude a player or official from entering.
The club doctor would be informed immediately and work with the player to determine their Covid status and any subsequent return to the club when any isolation period was complete or – if deemed positive – all symptoms had subsided.
Any player who is suffering from or is in isolation due to Covid will be listed as being impacted by the league’s health and safety protocols when teams are named.
The league had organised a supply of rapid antigen tests well in advance of the AFLW season and long before the current rush on kits, with players and club officials having completed rapid tests before all training sessions and practice matches in recent weeks.
While the AFL has a limited supply of RATs on hand for the season, which begins on Friday night, it remains hopeful that supply issues facing the community are alleviated, with a similar regime expected to be in place for the men’s season.
The federal government announced on Wednesday that close contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 and those with symptoms should now seek out and complete a rapid antigen test rather than a PCR test, with the testing system overloaded.
Only people with Covid-19 symptoms or a positive rapid antigen test should get a PCR test.
Women’s football boss Nicole Livingstone said this week that while the league was encouraging supporters to attend AFLW games, they should not do so if they are experiencing Covid symptoms, in isolation or awaiting a result of a PCR or rapid antigen test.
Ticketing guidelines state that only fully vaccinated patrons can attend games.
Under the AFL ticket policy’s extenuating circumstances allowance, patrons who are unable to attend games due to suffering from Covid or being in isolation may be eligible for a refund on pre-purchased tickets.
Virus minefield: AFLW season on knife’s edge
At least four Victorian AFL Women’s teams are grappling with having players in isolation just days out from the start of the season.
Collingwood has at least four players confined to their homes amid state government Covid-19 regulations, just four days out from its clash with Carlton on Sunday.
North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney is in doubt to miss the opener against Geelong after testing positive to two rapid antigen tests.
The prolific midfielder is still awaiting a PCR result and is currently in isolation and looms as a long shot to be a starter for the Roos on Saturday.
The club confirmed the news on Tuesday night however insisted she was yet to be ruled out and was still a chance to play.
The skipper was a no show for the annual captains launch with vice-captain Emma King taking her place.
The AFL has a range of contingency plans in place for what women’s football boss Nicole Livingstone admits will be a “lumpy and bumpy” season amid the current Covid crisis facing Victoria and New South Wales, including hubs for players and rescheduling games — whether that be to other weekend timeslots or even midweek.
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While the Magpies expect their isolated players to be cleared in time for their meeting with the Blues, it is a scenario that co-captain Steph Chiocci conceded “is not ideal”.
“But it’s something that we’re going to have to deal with,” she told the Herald Sun.
“And the community is dealing with it. You see the queues to get a PCR test and we can’t get rapid (tests) out to the community — I think that’s the public health concern.
“We just need to reduce the risk for ourselves and do what we need to do to get this season underway.
“We all want to play football and we’ll do whatever it takes to get the season going and keep ourselves as safe as possible.
“It is what it is — we’re going to be impacted. Girls are going to miss (games), staff are going to miss (games), we just need to roll with the punches and make the best with what we’ve got.”
At least two other Melbourne-based clubs also have players serving isolation periods ahead of this weekend’s season-opening matches, while Gold Coast still has five players in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, with all hopeful of being cleared to exit before the weekend.
All players and staff members attending match days will be required to return a negative PCR test prior to games, with a rigorous rapid antigen testing regime also in place.
League women’s football boss Nicole Livingstone said “things will be fluid” as the AFL endeavours to deliver the season and, ultimately, a premier.
West Coast and Fremantle will spend a month in Victoria after this weekend’s derby to combat border closures, and Livingstone said a “multitude of scenarios” are in play should Covid strike — including players joining a hub or shifting games to whenever they can be played.
“Playing (games) when (they’re) scheduled is our first priority, and if we can’t do that then there is flexibility to be able to play it later in the round, or postpone if necessary,” Livingstone said.
“The relocation policy has been agreed to by players. We are committed to deliver this season and we’ll find a way to deliver it.
“Any of those relocation policies have been agreed to … players, the club, the AFLPA are obviously aware of them.”
Covid crunch: Pies in isolation ahead of AFLW opener
Collingwood has at least four women’s players in isolation with their Round 1 clash just five days away.
The Herald Sun understands that the players are on track to be released in time for the meeting with Carlton on Sunday, pending their fulfilment of state government Covid-19 isolation requirements.
Current guidelines require close contacts of positive cases to isolate for seven days from exposure to a positive case, and return a negative rapid antigen test on day six of isolation and also be symptom-free.
“We have a small number of players isolating in accordance with health protocols and will know later in the week what if any impact on the squad for the weekend,” the club confirmed to the Herald Sun this morning.
At least one other Victorian club is also believed to have players serving precautionary isolation periods but it is not expected to impact on that club’s Round 1 team.
Gold Coast has five players in isolation until later this week, after they tested positive. All will undergo PCR testing later this week to determine their availability.
The Pies are considered a hot chance to take out this season’s premiership.
Covid is set to play a significant role in the upcoming AFLW season — which begins on Friday — as the league and clubs grapple with the increasing spread of the Omicron strain of the virus, particularly in Victoria and New South Wales.
AFLW PLAYERS BACKED TO KEEP COVID AT BAY
The AFL is trusting players to do their best to mitigate potential exposure to Covid-19 between now and the weekend as the sixth season of AFLW looms in four days’ time.
While men’s players were subjected to hard line biosecurity measures surrounding social distancing and activities in previous seasons in an effort to keep the season afloat, women’s players will at this stage not be bound by any official guidelines for their movement.
As the Omicron strain of Covid-19 continues to spread, an attitude of responsibility is expected and has duly been adopted by most players who simply want to enjoy an uninterrupted season after two years of Covid-induced fixture chaos.
Some teams have reached agreements among themselves in recent weeks to not attend venues such as nightclubs, and to only sit outside if attending cafes or restaurants, with the responsibility left to clubs to impose any restrictions on players.
Given women’s players are part-time, it would be difficult for the league to introduce tough measures upon them with work, care and study commitments already in place.
The AFL will on Tuesday launch the 2022 women’s season — the competition’s sixth — and is determined to get the season up and running this weekend, starting on Friday night in Frankston where St Kilda will play Richmond.
The league on Monday shifted plans for the launch, which in an effort to minimise risk will be held online for Victoria and New South Wales.
In-person activities will be held in other states but all Victorian and New South Wales captains, plus league women’s football boss Nicole Livingstone, will be kept behind their computer screen out of an abundance of caution.
Players and club staff will undergo PCR testing in the lead-up to each game at a testing site dedicated to and paid for by the AFL, which does not impact on community testing capabilities or volumes.
Star Tiger Ellie McKenzie won’t play on Friday or in coming weeks after battling a “unique” injury to her calf.
St Kilda also remains without Georgia Patrikios — one of its best — who remains on the club’s active list despite vaccine hesitancy.
Gold Coast’s entire playing list was placed into isolation last week after a player tested positive to Covid-19.
Five players who eventually all tested positive remain in isolation but will be released before Sunday’s match against Greater Western Sydney, pending the results of final PCR tests to be completed this week.
Teams that are struck down by Covid-19 — either positive tests or isolation protocols — must have 16 primary list players and another five train-on players available in order for the game to go ahead, meaning teams would have a full team with a bench available.
Clubs have been permitted to enlist 10 train-on players to have in reserve if required.
“I am optimistically cautious (about the season,” Livingstone told Code Sports this week.
“We are planning, as always, for any kind of scenario to unfold.
“We are confident, but I think the last two years have taught us to expect the unexpected.
“Our slogan is that football finds a way. Women’s football will find a way.”
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