Crows and Port to join WA clubs in south-east Queensland hub as Gold Coast looms as location on eve of season resumption announcement
After their dreams of a fly out and fly back season were dashed, the Crows and Port are closing in on where their hubs will be.
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The Crows and Port Adelaide appear certain to establish hubs in south-east Queensland from as early as next week, with the AFL to finally announce its relaunch date on Friday.
The interstate switch for the South Australian clubs came after SA Health cited “public safety” for its shock decision to not provide players with special COVID-19 quarantine exemptions.
The Gold Coast looks likely to be the home-base for both clubs, with Port Adelaide holding its pre-season camps in Queensland for the past two years.
The Crows say they leave final decision to the league, but AFL insiders last night said, while the situation was fluid, Queensland was the red-hot favourite with players to be based at luxury resorts with golf courses.
It would mean six clubs will be based in Queensland with the Crows and Port joining the West Coast Eagles, Freemantle, Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns.
Royal Pines Golf Club on the Gold Coast has been identified as a potential hub for one or more of the four relocated teams.
In a massive win for players, immediate families will be permitted to relocate to the hubs with Eagles, Dockers, Crows and Power players.
For safety reasons Queensland, which has signifcantly lower cases than Victoria, is a more appealing option.
After it was pushed back on multiple occasions this week, the AFL is set to finally reveal its return to play plan on Friday, with speculation rife it will be either June 11 or June 18.
The SA clubs yesterday remained stunned by the letter sent to the AFL from SA’s chief public health officer Prof Nicola Spurrier and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens on Tuesday night refusing special exemptions to prevent their players undergoing 14-day quarantine requirements after interstate matches, thereby making a fly-in, fly-out model unviable.
They also were also shocked to be told SA would not allow contact training with more than 10 people before June 8.
Port general manager of football Chris Davies said that was the biggest surprise. “If those can’t be changed then we will be forced to move interstate (soon),” he said. “We will work with the AFL to do whatever is needed to try and get that lifted in the short term.”
Adelaide head of football Adam Kelly said the Crows had not applied for an exemption: “We haven’t considered it to be honest, we are just trying to get our heads around the reality that we are going to be moving interstate for a recommencement of the season.”
Kelly said the Crows had sent a list of questions to the AFL about what a relocation interstate would look like but said it could happen in days.
“Certainly one of the questions we have put forward is around movement in the community, and if we are in some form of hub can you exit the hub, can people from outside be allowed in,” he said.
“They have changed rapidly and we need to be flexible and agile and it was only 48 hours ago we were thinking we probably wouldn’t be in a hub.
“A critical question for us is whether we can have families inside a hub.”
Kelly said Crows players were feeling “uncomfortable” about being away from families for an extended period of time but none had said they would not enter a hub.
Davies said his previous statement that no player would be forced into a hub would stand.
He also said the training breach in the Barossa Valley by 16 Crows players last week wouldn’t have had a positive impact towards Wednesday night’s decision.
But Prof Spurrier said the exemption rejection was treated separately.
Premier Steven Marshall said he did not lead the clubs and the AFL on, despite saying as recently as Tuesday that modified quarantine requirements could be worked out.
“I think it was worth investigating, but ultimately the transition committee said we do not want an increased risk, we have come so far in South Australia we don’t want to go backwards,” Mr Marshall said.
“We made it clear right from day one that there were options being considered… but always the ultimate decision would be made with the very best health advice.”
Prof Spurrier said the players would not receive any special exemptions until all South Australians could travel.
They would not get preferential treatment over other South Australians, she said..
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Originally published as Crows and Port to join WA clubs in south-east Queensland hub as Gold Coast looms as location on eve of season resumption announcement