Nathan Buckley concedes COVID blunder may have distracted Magpies, Trent Cotchin offers to pay for protocol breach
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says his position on COVID-19 slip-up is ‘absolutely consistent’ following Pies coach Nathan Buckley’s fine days after the president said anyone who beaks the rules should be sent home.
Collingwood
Don't miss out on the headlines from Collingwood. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has declared his position on the AFL’s coronavirus sanctions has been consistent, saying he’s proud of coach Nathan Buckley for “copping his whack.”
The pair played tennis with two people from outside the club’s travel bubble — including Australia’s Fed Cup captain and former women’s world No.8 Alicia Molik — in Perth last week.
Collingwood was fined $50,000, with $25,000 of that suspended.
The incident came after McGuire called for individuals fined by the AFL for breaching the hub rules to pay for any sanctions from their own pockets and be sent home.
“No one was giving themselves a backhander more than Bucks and Brenton Sanderson,” McGuire said on Triple M’s Hot Breakfast on Monday morning.
“The situation Bucks and Sando put themselves in was they played with Alicia Molik, but they were outside the bubble.
“As Bucks said, the rules are clear and that’s why he’s copped his whack.”
McGuire defended himself against criticism for speaking out on figures from other clubs.
“When you’re the president of a football club, you actually have a say as opposed to those in the media who can have a go from the sidelines,” the Pies president said.
“You’re actually involved in the conversations, so let me clear this up once and for all.
“My position, going into the COVID-19 in society, and very much in the AFL football world where we’re always going to be coming up against situations where the game could be stopped at any stage and would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
“OK, so we had to be very careful.
“I have Gill McLachlan, I have Richard Goyder, I sit on these committees and I hear first-hand what goes on and how we have to go about it.
“So when I’m asked my opinion I give my opinion, and my opinion has been that we needed to go very hard as far as what the sanctions should be, and that had to have personal responsibility.
“The AFL put a 16-page document out saying, ‘This is what you can’t do,” he said.
“It needed a 17th page saying, ‘This is what happens if it does.’
“The AFL came out last week and said to us they’re going to fine the clubs.
“It’s not the club’s fault in these situations.
“You can only tell people as much as you possibly can, and from that moment on it becomes the person’s personal responsibility.”
The Magpies chairman paid tribute to Buckley and Sanderson for copping it on the chin.
“I’ve proud that they (Buckley and Sanderson) have done that (copped their whack), just as I was proud of the way Steele Sidebottom accepted his four weeks and got on with it,” he said.
“I wasn’t proud of what he did in the first place, but proud in the way he responded to the situation.
“But I would have been far tougher in society on people who transgressed and I would have been far tougher on the AFL society that transgressed.
“The AFL then said, ‘No, we will do these things and these are the sanction penalties’.
“And now I support them 100 per cent.”
Watch Footy LIVE & On-Demand Every Day from July 29 – August 17 with Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
On Sunday night, Buckley declared he “does not have a leg to stand on” after his breach of the AFL’s coronavirus protocols in the lead-up to a shock loss to Fremantle.
The Magpies were ambushed by a hungry Dockers team and belted in the midfield, losing the contested ball by an alarming 151-115 as they slumped to back-to-back losses in the Perth hub.
Buckley stopped short of saying his players had been distracted after the coach and assistant Brenton Sanderson were fined $25,000 for playing tennis with Australian Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik, who is not an approved club contact.
But he said he needed to be better as the Magpies confront a “mental and emotional challenge” to rebound against Sydney at the Gabba in four days.
“It can’t help. You don’t need the extra attention, especially when it’s away from your primary endeavour, which is to be as good a football team as you possibly can be,” Buckley said.
“We let the club down in that regard by a miscommunication and not being diligent enough with what we could and could not do.
“I don’t have a leg to stand on. It was a lack of due diligence by me and follow-up and I should have known better, really.
“I should have checked again before we had gone.”
Buckley and Sanderson were isolated from the Magpies players for 24 hours in the lead-up to Sunday’s 12-point loss, with their main team meeting shifted to Sunday morning.
The coach said almost weekly updates to the AFL’s return to play protocols had created some confusion about what was possible, leading to the breach with Sanderson.
“I’m not making an excuse but that is a reality to what clubs are facing,” Buckley said.
“We believed it had been ticked off. And that included the two (other people).
“There are some situations of the week where it is OK and some where it is not, with different people at different times.
“(But) I need to be better. We need to be better.”
Collingwood confronted a Fremantle team “hungrier to win it and hungrier to attack us”, Buckley said after his team was pushed out of the eight following the completion of Round 9.
“We’ve lacked a bit of an edge in the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“The last two games we haven’t been as aggressive in there as we usually are.
“You take the numbers away, your eyes told you they were more intent across the board than we were, which is a concern for us because we pride ourselves on that.
“We come up against a Sydney side that have always been rated in a trademark sense around contested ball and tackling.
“It’s a fitting test for us, because we need to get that right. It won’t be on the training track, it will be on Thursday night.”
Cotchin offers to pay fine after wife’s mistake
AFL great Wayne Carey says the league should brace for a spate of further COVID breaches given the difficulty in adhering to AFL protocols.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley will coach the Pies against Fremantle on Sunday night after being cleared to take part because of a negative COVID test.
Buckley and Brenton Sanderson will together pay the AFL’s $25,000 fine, with the league suspending another $25,000 of the fine.
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale revealed on Sunday captain Trent Cotchin had offered to pay the fine after his wife Brooke’s day spa visit saw the Tigers fined $45,000 ($25,000 suspended).
The Herald Sun confirmed with the AFL on Sunday that the Pies did not have to include the $25,000 fine in their football department soft cap because it was before a new set of AFL protocols.
Every dollar is accounted for in AFL football department caps because of the league’s dramatic cut to just $6.2 million for the 2020 season.
But while the Pies were only penalised on Saturday afternoon, Buckley and Sanderson played tennis star Alicia Molik and her friend earlier in the week.
The AFL has told clubs they will be handed fines of up to $75,000, with $100,000 included in the soft cap.
That could require clubs to make significant sacrifices given the AFL taxes clubs for every dollar they spend over the cap.
Carey told Triple M on Sunday that despite Collingwood president Eddie McGuire saying someone in Buckley’s position should be sent home, the breach showed how easy it was to contravene rules.
“No, he shouldn’t be on the first plane. He has made a mistake. What does surprise me is how he made that mistake. But I will say this, if Bucks can get it wrong and we all know and respect Bucks, how in the hell do we expect young footballers to get it right,” he said.
The AFL’s exhaustive protocols were not in contravention of West Australian state rules but against the league’s lengthy rules.
Gale said the club’s breach was accidental, but it is not known whether the Tigers took up Cotchin’s offer to pay that fine.
“We’re committed to doing all we can to adhere to the AFL COVID protocols. It’s not negotiable! The inadvertent breach this week was disappointing (and Trent immediately offered to pay the fine). It’s a reminder of the fragility of the AFL competition, and the entire community,” Gale tweeted.
We’re committed to doing all we can to ahere to the @AFL COVID protocols. It’s not negotiable! The inadvertent breach this week was disappointing (and Trent immediately offered to pay the fine). It’s a reminder of the fragility of the @AFL competition, and the entire community. https://t.co/vq21t0sybB
— Brendon Gale (@brendongale25) August 2, 2020
The AFL’s tough crackdown on COVID breaches has served as a significant warning shot to all clubs, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has admitted, with his club hub again reminded of the rules that they must strictly follow.
Collingwood, Hawthorn, Carlton, North Melbourne and Richmond have all been heavily fined for a range of breaches of the league’s COVID-19 protocols in recent days, with a Perth tennis match with Australian tennis champion Alicia Molik costing Magpies coach Nathan Buckley and his assistant Brenton Sanderson a combined $25,000.
BUCKS, PIES FINED FOR TENNIS MATCH WITH ALICIA MOLIK
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley and assistant coach Brenton Sanderson will pay the $25,000 fine the AFL handed the Magpies on Saturday after the pair breached COVID-19 protocols by playing tennis with Australian Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik and a tennis coach on Friday.
Just a day after four rival clubs copped heavy suspensions for varying breaches, and after Pies president Eddie McGuire said individuals who broke the rules should pay their own fines, Collingwood copped a $50,000 fine (with $25,000 suspended) from the AFL.
Buckley and Sanderson were forced to isolate from the playing group after the club self-reported the breach, but are expected to be cleared for Sunday’s clash with Fremantle at Perth Stadium.
Buckley and Sanderson sought – and gained – permission to play tennis outside the club’s Perth hub on Wednesday and Friday.
But the breach came on Friday when they played a match with Molik and the coach.
Both have apologised and have agreed to foot the $25,000 fine.
Buckley said he and Sanderson had been unaware that they had broken protocols by playing tennis against two people outside the club’s “bubble” until they had returned to the hub.
“We believed we had followed and adhered to the protocols as required but after returning to the hotel and readdressing the circumstances it became crystal clear that we had breached the current AFL protocols,” Buckley said.
“The competition is asking its constituents to make great sacrifices for the show to go on and we have all accepted these for the long term future of the industry and the privilege of participating within it.
“In regards to the financial sanctions handed down, Brenton and I have committed to meet this.
“We both accept responsibility for our actions and are accountable members and supporters that underpin the club need to know that their financial and emotional investments directly assist our aspirations on field and will continue to do so.”
Buckley had told SEN on Thursday that it “had been good to get out and go for a bit of a run and have a hit of tennis.”
Earlier McGuire told Fox Footy that individuals responsible for breaches “should be fined personally”, and argued that if people aren’t willing to accept the AFL’s strict restrictions, “we’ll arrange for you to go home”.
“I think the people who breach the protocols should be fined personally, to be honest,” McGuire said.
AFL General Counsel Andrew Dillon said Collingwood was forthcoming in reporting the incident.
“The AFL appreciates Collingwood’s advising the AFL of the breach and their co-operation with the investigation. We note that tennis is an approved exercise activity however approved participants are limited to approved club staff, players, household members and immediate family,” Dillon said.
“Notwithstanding the inadvertent nature of this breach, it doesn’t excuse the responsibility to abide by the protocols.”
Magpies president Eddie McGuire urged the AFL earlier in the day to come down hard on any club that breaches the rules, saying individuals needed to pay the fines for their transgressions.
Hawthorn was hit with a $50,000 fine (with half suspended) after three players went searching for food at the SCG in a game against Sydney, leaving the sanctioned corporate box.
Richmond was slugged $45,000 (with $25,000 suspended) after Trent Cotchin’s wife Brooke posted about attending a facial at the Essence day spa.
North Melbourne and Carlton were also fined $45,000 (with $20,000 suspended) for other breaches.
The AFL reiterated on Saturday that the clubs would be responsible for anyone under their care – including the 410 wives, partners and children who went into the Queensland hubs last Thursday.
MORE AFL:
The day Jarryd Roughead’s life became more important than footy
AFL teams for Round 10: All the ins and outs
COVID CRACKDOWN A STERN WARNING: BEVERIDGE
-Lauren Wood
The AFL’s tough crackdown on COVID breaches has served as a significant warning shot to all clubs, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has admitted, with his club hub again reminded of the rules that they must strictly follow.
Collingwood, Hawthorn, Carlton and Richmond have all been heavily fined for a range of breaches of the league’s COVID-19 protocols in recent days, with a Perth tennis match with Australian tennis champion Alicia Molik costing Magpies coach Nathan Buckley and his assistant Brenton Sanderson a combined $25,000.
Once the sanctions were confirmed, Beveridge said that club compliance officer Sam Power and football boss Chris Grant had sought to remind its entire hub “straight away” of their requirements.
“It was a positive message because we’ve been doing everything to the best of our ability to the letter of the protocols, and so fortunately, we weren’t one of the clubs who transgressed,” Beveridge said on Sunday morning.
“It seems like a no-brainer that you should stay within the parameters, but at times it’s quite easy to revert to what your life has been prior and it doesn’t seem so black and white.
“But we’ve had some reminders and there’s no doubt all of us really checked ourselves when the sanctions came out … had we been in similar situations, had we done the right thing?
“Now it’s our challenge to make sure that we remain compliant and keep our heads in what we’re here to do.”
Beveridge said that while the sanctions were “extremely heavy”, they weren’t a surprise given the league’s tough stance.
“Early, when the AFL was talking tough on sanctions right at the start, the reason really was because the game needed to go on, we needed the competition to continue and we couldn’t have anyone jeopardise it,” he said.
“This time around, it doesn’t appear like the game and the competition is going to stop if someone has a minor breach. But the sanctions are still extremely heavy. We weren’t sure what would happen.
“It’s a significant financial warning that’s been shot over the bow, and obviously from the game’s perspective and the financial and the intangible benefits that we get out of the game, there’s too much risk.
“We understand it and it wasn’t probably a great surprise, but it just shows you that the AFL are going to just come down extremely hard on anything.”