AFL: St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall locked in his room at the same Perth resort where his teammates are moving around

The mental health of AFL players forced into Covid isolation is becoming a major issue for officials.

St Kilda coach Brett Ratten is “really worried” about isolated ruckman Rowan Marshall, who is locked in his room at the same Perth resort where his teammates are staying.

Marshall was forced into isolation this week after discovering he had visited a tier 1 Covid-19 exposure site in Melbourne following the Wallabies’ Test against France. The ruckman visited a pub in Richmond after the match.

He’s among a growing number of AFL players locked away from their teammates around the country and unable to have face-to-face contact with anyone.

As he tried to zone in on preparations for Saturday’s clash with West Coast in Perth, Ratten said Marshall, who wasn’t able to return to Victoria to complete his isolation that will end next week, was not far from everyone’s thoughts.

“We’re just really worried about him now,” Ratten said on Wednesday.

“We’re in Joondalup where we get a little bit of luxury of moving around the resort. But he’s actually locked in his room. His meals are being dropped off at the door.

“So to make sure his wellbeing is all right, we’ve got our psych here, everyone is touching base with him, and we’re trying to get a little bit of equipment so he can do some form of exercise in his room.

“But he doesn’t have much space. He won’t be leaving his room for the 14 days I think.”

The Saints and the AFL have lobbied the West Australian government to allow Marshall to fly back to Melbourne with the team this weekend,

But he may have to wait for his isolation period to expire on July 27 before being permitted to leave.

“The support is critical,” Ratten said.

“I text him and called him this morning, our psych will zoom in so he can see him.

“He not in his home, but he’s going fine. It’s not just Rowan – people around Australia have been put in these situations. But he’s with us in our group, so that’s how we’re taking care of him.”

Rowan Marshall and his teammate Darragh Joyce stopped for a frothy at the Precinct for 45 minutes while they waited for an Uber after the rugby. Had the day off the next day. Saints have no issue with it https://t.co/5D5xrHfIbp

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) July 20, 2021

Marshall‘s absence comes at a crucial time for the Saints who have to beat the Eagles to keep their finals hopes alive.

Veteran Paddy Ryder will have to shoulder the bulk of the ruck load against West Coast star Nic Naitanui on Saturday.

“Nic is one of the elite players in the competition,” Ratten said.

“He changes games in short periods. Sometimes it’s not what he does for the whole game, it’s what he can do in about 15 minutes of footy sometimes.

“He just turns the game on its head. He gets the momentum going for West Coast.”

Paul Hunter could come back in to help Ryder, but Ratten said they could also go with a “small”second ruck option.

Ratten said the importance of the match was not lost on his players.

“They know what’s on the line, the season, it is what it is,” he said.

“We could have made it a little easier for ourselves, but we haven’t.”

Nick Coffield is fit and available and with no VFL games could return from a hamstring injury against the Eagles.