Collingwood star Taylor Adams backs Nathan Buckley’s pledge for Collingwood, Vic clubs to travel more during COVID-19 affected season
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley put his hand up for more interstate travel to lessen the impact on clubs stuck in hubs and now star midfielder Taylor Adams says he would be more than comfortable” for the Pies to hit the road.
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Collingwood star Taylor Adams has backed Nathan Buckley’s call for the Pies to play more games interstate in a bid to take the pressure off interstate clubs stuck in hubs, declaring his side “travels well”.
With the jumble of COVID-19 restrictions in each state, West Coast and Fremantle will be based in Queensland and the location of Adelaide and Port Adelaide is still up in the air. The Collingwood coach this week volunteered his club to take to the skies as a “buffer” for those clubs.
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Adams said he was “more than comfortable” hitting the road.
“I think we travel five times a year, but I’m in the same position as Bucks, I’m more than comfortable,” Adams said on AFL Tonight.
“I actually love getting away and spending time with our teammates.
“We actually travel really well as a side and the AFL make it a really comfortable experience for us.”
“Some people have the opportunity to see family and friends when they go back to their home states, so it’s something that we can certainly look into to try to make the competition a little bit more equal.”
Adams said it may not suit every Pie, but he has experience in travel, having spent his formative years with the Giants.
“I did a fair bit of travel when I was with the Giants – we travelled 12-14 times a year because we played home games in Canberra,” he said.
“It’s not too foreign to myself, but I imagine it will be a rude shock to some of the guys who have spent a lot of time at the footy club over the past 10 years.”
Of course, without crowds, the impact of home-ground advantaged will be lessened, but Buckley, earlier this week, said was conscious of the impact the hub arrangements would have on interstate clubs.
“The Victorian clubs that don’t travel as much as the interstate clubs are going to be in a position to share that travel load a bit more to buffer the WA and SA clubs in their predicament going into hubs,” Buckley said on Fox Footy’s On The Couch.
“I would put our hand up to travel a little bit more often to be able to buffer that and share the load through the 10 Victorian clubs that probably haven’t had to travel as much at times.”
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Buckley said the new AFL travel schedules, which will have clubs catching charter flights on game day, while tough, would be something players would have to get used to.
“In the end you’ve got to do whatever you need to do to get the competition going,” Buckley said.
“We feel very fortunate to be able to get back to work.
“There’s a lot of people across Australia who have now got the opportunity to go back to work.
“The reality of what we face is a little different.”
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