How every AFL club is dealing with the latest Covid-19 fixture changes
Jack Riewoldt says he fears for the welfare of staff if hubs are needed again this year — here’s what Gillon McLachlan has told clubs.
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The AFL Players’ Association has received an assurance that clubs will spend no more than three consecutive weeks on the road, calming anxious players who feared they would have to evacuate Victoria indefinitely for a second-straight season.
AFLPA boss Paul Marsh wrote to all 784 players just before 9pm on Tuesday confirming that long-term hubs were a “last resort” as the league looks to keep another coronavirus-plagued season rolling.
The email to players, seen by News Corp, included a two-minute video message from AFL boss Gillon McLachlan.
“I want to say specifically that we are not envisaging hubs,” McLachlan said.
“They are a last-term resort. We think we can navigate through the next few weeks with surges here and there — one, two, three weeks max and we’ll get you back.
“Please don’t think hubs are on the near-term agenda, because they’re not.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty, and they are our last resort, and I just want you guys to know that.”
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Players currently interstate rejoiced when they opened Marsh’s email after growing anxious that, like last year, they would not come home.
Clubs also confirmed that the AFL wants to ensure any changes to the fixture are limited to venues, rather than wholesale changes to dates, times and match-ups.
Richmond vice-captain Jack Riewoldt admitted he would struggle to stay on the road for an extended period this season as the Tigers’ travel plans beyond this weekend’s match against Essendon in Perth remain uncertain.
Riewoldt said avoiding a repeat of last year was important, especially after he had just six hours to prepare for a flight out of Melbourne last Wednesday.
“You’ve been in the position before where you’re told you’re going away for 30 days and you end up being away for 120. It’s only natural that those feelings and emotions pop up again,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy’s AFL360.
“My main priority is still my family and it’s hard to leave a two-and-a-half year old and a five-month-old at home being just looked after by their mother.
“Hopefully for everybody’s sake – and not just footy – we can get the Covid situation under control in Victoria.”
Riewoldt said the prospect of hubs would take a big toll on players and club staff.
“There are staff members up here that took a 30 per cent pay cut last year that are not earning the big bucks and are asked to go away from their families doing the similar things that we do,” Riewoldt said.
“I look at our staff and that’s who I really worry about.”
Adelaide superstar Taylor Walker said he had already been warned about the doomsday déjà vu possibility.
“I actually had a phone call yesterday from the club saying, ‘Prepare your family that you may go to a hub’,” Walker told Triple M.
“They’re not saying that we will, they’re still unsure. But just to prepare them that I may go to the hub, but families are not allowed to go.”
Walker’s comments are understood to relate to short-term trips only, with family support for players set to be non-negotiable for any lengthy move.
Coach Luke Beveridge said the Western Bulldogs were “fragmented” after leaving 17 players in Victoria, including out of form vice-captain Mitch Wallis.
Development coaches Jamie Maddocks and Travis Varcoe ran their training session on Tuesday as Beveridge’s team hit the track in Marrickville, 30 minutes from the club’s Sydney hotel.
But Beveridge said the six-night stay in Sydney was far more palatable than last year’s initial move because players are not in hotel quarantine and know they will be flying home from Perth on Monday.
Likewise, Carlton and Essendon expect to fly home after their Round 12 games in Sydney and Perth respectively.
Those clubs have taken solace from Hawthorn returning home from Sydney on Sunday morning.
Some players on the road this week are already unhappy
For example, St Kilda has flagged that Seb Ross and Tim Membrey would struggle with relocating.
Membrey’s pregnant partner Emily is due this month while Ross’ wife Marnie gave birth to twin boys on his 28th birthday last month.
It would understandably be hard for Carlton veteran Eddie Betts to stay away, given he has five young kids at home.
Under the AFL Players’ Association’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, players must be given a four-day break during the bye to refresh mentally and physically.
Hawthorn, Geelong and North Melbourne have their byes this week and so players who are in Victoria must spend their annual leave in isolation due to the state’s lockdown.
More clubs could confront that reality over the next fortnight. Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson was unfazed at the bye restrictions.
“We’re being a little bit precious if we think that we all deserve a holiday. Our commitment has to be to the wider community and ensuring we do what’s needed to keep this virus under control and to protect ourselves from getting the virus as well,” he said.
“If that means there’s a sacrifice in terms of having a little bit of a break then so be it. The break mainly will be to get out of the routine of coming to the footy club.”
HOW EVERY CLUB IS DEALING WITH COVID-19 CARNAGE
The AFL season has been thrown into chaos after the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne.
While many sides are already set to spend an extended time on the road, others still don’t know when and where their next games will be.
How is your club dealing with it?
Get the latest information on what they’re expecting below.
ADELAIDE
The Crows returned to Adelaide from Sydney following their 28-point loss to Richmond at Giants Stadium.
They are due to face Collingwood at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon, but with South Australia’s border closed to Victoria, the Pies will need special exemptions from SA Health to enter the state. SA’s chief public health officer, Nicola Spurrier, confirmed the AFL had put in a request for an exemption for Collingwood, which she said the department was considering closely, with a decision to be made that will put the safety of South Australians first.
If that exemption is not granted, the Crows could be forced to forfeit their home Sir Doug Nicholls Round game and instead travel to Sydney to play at Giants Stadium. Adelaide don’t have their bye until Round 14. Their Round 13 game is scheduled for Cazaly Stadium in Far North Queensland, against St Kilda on Saturday, June 12.
BRISBANE
Plans still to be confirmed by the club.
CARLTON
Have remained in Sydney after Sunday‘s loss to the Swans. Are expected to stay in the Harbour City where they will play West Coast, most likely at the SCG, next Sunday.
COLLINGWOOD
Still awaiting confirmation from AFL. At this stage the Pies are expecting to fly in and fly out of Adelaide for Saturday‘s game against the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
ESSENDON
Have remained in Perth. After upsetting the West Coast Eagles on Saturday night, the Bombers will return to Optus Stadium next Saturday night for the annual Dreamtime game against Richmond which has been transferred to WA from the MCG. The team is not under any restrictions while in Perth.
GEELONG
Chris Scott’s Cats are one of six teams on the bye this week after beating Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday. They are due to face Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Thursday week in Round 13, but so far there is no suggestion they will relocate to South Australia early. The AFL is keen for players and staff to be at home in their own beds where possible.
GOLD COAST
Plans still to be confirmed by the club.
GWS GIANTS
The Giants are another club on the bye this week, but they already had a dramatic experience ahead of their Round 11 clash with Brisbane at the Gabba. Players and staff were turned away from the airport last Friday, because only 12 days had passed since they were in Melbourne.
GWS was given an exemption to fly into Queensland the following day, but that wasn’t the end of it. Any players or staff who wanted to stay for a few more days in the Sunshine State had to cross the border back into NSW – by car or plane – then return on Sunday to satisfy government regulations. Most players went to Byron Bay instead, with training resuming on Friday. What happens with their Round 13 match against North Melbourne in Hobart will depend on Covid-19 developments.
HAWTHORN
The Hawks have not received any further information other than to stay in Melbourne and abide by the Victorian Government’s restrictions. They have the bye this weekend and are already fixtured to face the Swans in Sydney on Friday week.
NORTH MELBOURNE
The Kangaroos have the bye this weekend so there is no urgency to get out of Victoria. They will be staying put in Victoria until told otherwise. At the time of writing, the Roos are still planning to go to Tasmania to play the GWS Giants on Sunday week.
MELBOURNE
The Demons’ clash with the Brisbane Lions in the NT on Friday night will almost certainly be moved. The club has been in phone hook-ups on Monday waiting to hear officially, with speculation the game will be moved to the SCG.
PORT ADELAIDE
The Power players are now on a well-timed bye break, not scheduled to return to their Alberton headquarters until Friday, June 4.
Some players have had to cancel interstate travel plans, and will stay in Adelaide for the week instead. They are due to face Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Thursday, June 10 in Round 13, and this game remains up in the air considering border restrictions.
RICHMOND
After its Round 11 clash against the Adelaide Crows was moved from the MCG to Giants Stadium, Richmond will be on the move again for one of the marquee games of the AFL season.
The Tigers’ Dreamtime at the ‘G clash against Essendon – the showpiece of Sir Doug Nicholls round – will now be played at Optus Stadium on Saturday night after being moved from the MCG.
The Tigers will relocate from Sydney Olympic Park on Monday to a beachside base at Coogee, training nearby at the SCG, for the rest of the week before they fly out to Perth ahead of the Dreamtime clash on Friday.
“In these times clubs are very, very good at looking after each other with regards to training venues and helping each other out,” Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said. “GWS were fantastic with us this week. We’ll move hotels to Coogee and then probably train at the SCG I think this week.”
ST KILDA
The Saints are awaiting clarification from the AFL on the location of their Round 12 clash against Sydney on Saturday, but one scenario is a move from Marvel Stadium to the SCG.
It’s uncertain if the Saints, who defeated North Melbourne at a crowdless Marvel Stadium on Saturday, would remain in Melbourne for the week or fly out as soon as possible if the game was moved there.
St Kilda chief operating officer Simon Lethlean said the Saints, who reached a semi-final last year in the hub, would relish the chance to hit the road again.
“It’s a great time for us if we have to relocate to do so and really band together and tap back into some of the nourishment we got last year by being together away from the Melbourne winter,” Lethlean said on 3AW. “We’re up and down at the moment, as has been much talked about, so I don’t see any downside in us heading away as a group to try and take on some teams in different environments. That’s a challenge but one that suited us in many respects last year. There is an air of excitement about the possibility of us having to get on the road and achieve things together again so it is certainly a positive outlook from our end.”
SYDNEY SWANS
Saturday’s contest with St Kilda, which was originally scheduled for Marvel Stadium, will almost certainly be played in Sydney or Cairns.
The two clubs meet again in Round 21, so the Swans’ preference is a switch of home games, and Saints coach Brett Ratten said post-match on Saturday night he was open to doing that. However, the Saints are playing in Cairns against Adelaide in Round 13, so that’s why that possibility of sneaking in an extra game there has arisen.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Originally due to fly west on Saturday for their clash against Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Sunday, the Western Bulldogs opted to make a detour to Sydney on Sunday afternoon to avoid tighter lockdown restrictions in Perth.
The Bulldogs would have faced being locked in their hotel all week in Perth aside from training before playing the Dockers. But in Sydney, the Bulldogs will still have similar lockdown provisions to Melbourne but can still leave their hotel room to exercise and get a coffee. The group will spend the week in Sydney before flying out to Perth next Saturday.
“Being able to get up to Sydney as a team, as a group, is terrific but also to be able to get some freedom, which we wouldn’t have got in WA, it would have been a fairly harsh sort of isolation between the hotel and the training venues,” Bulldogs head of football Chris Grant said.
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