WA’s strict border rules could stop even Qld AFL fans from making the grand final, as McGowan gloats and jokes before the event

WA Premier Mark McGowan has cracked jokes and gloated about not paying a cent for the AFL grand final, as millions are locked out of the state for the finals series.

Will Queensland AFL fans be allowed to attend the AFL grand final in Perth without needing to quarantine? Picture: Jono Searle

WA Premier Mark McGowan has joked about denying an exemption to Eddie McGuire and gloated about not paying a cent for the AFL grand final.

His bragging comes as millions of fans in lockdown in Victoria and NSW have been cut out of the action and denied the chance to buy finals tickets, including the grand final on September 25, while ‘Covid-free’ Queenslanders look likely to miss out as well unless WA Health rules.

McGowan boasted to a Perth radio station that unlike Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who paid up to $20 million to stage the decider last year, he had just promised a Covid-safe event.

The AFL announced on Tuesday that the grand final would be held at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

“Queensland last year paid somewhere up to $20 million for it, yet we haven‘t given them any money,” McGowan bragged on MIX94.5FM.

“We‘ve just said we’ll do a Covid-safe game if you come here - and we are not giving you any money and that’s your choice.

“So we drove a pretty hard bargain. I didn’t want to hand over $20 million.”

Already, Victorian and NSW AFL fans have been excluded from being able to buy tickets and unless WA Health relaxes its travel restrictions for Sunshine State arrivals, Queenslanders will have extreme diffculty attending as well.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said this week his state has “the strictest and strongest protocols to protect West Australia”. Picture: Jackson Flindell

Queensland has not had an active case in the community for more than three weeks and health restrictions have been eased across the state with dancing now allowed in nightclubs and 100 per cent capacity for allocated seated and ticketed indoor and outdoor stadiums.

But according to Western Australia, the state is still ‘low risk’, meaning residents are still subject to restrictions on their arrival into the state.

A WA Health spokeswoman said Queensland will move to a ‘very low’ status after 28 days of no reported community spread of the virus.

Mr McGowan said South Australians, Tasmanians and NT residents are welcome to attend the grand final.

“Tourists will be able to come from South Australia or Tasmania or the Northern Territory, and potentially Queensland by that time, because they’re Covid-free states,’ Mr McGowan said.

A representative from Ms Palaszcuk’s office said the restrictions are a matter for the WA government.

Under WA Health’s ‘low risk’ regulations, anyone travelling from Queensland to WA must quarantine for 14 days and undergo testing for Covid several times before being allowed to enter the community.

This means anyone from Queensland planning to attend to the grand final on September 25 must depart for Perth before the preliminary final round is completed – including the game that would determine whether the Brisbane Lions make it to the final at all.

WA Health still considers Queensland a 'low risk' area despite no active cases in the community for more than three weeks. Picture: WA Health

The preliminary finals, to be held on September 10 and 11, decide the grand final combatants.

Melbourne takes on the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final between Geelong and GWS Giants in a preliminary final at Perth’s Optus Stadium on September 10.

Port Adelaide will host the winner of the first semi-final between Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs in the other preliminary at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, September 11 at 7.10pm (ACST).

WA Health rules stipulate travellers arriving from 'low risk' areas must quarantine for 14 days. Queensland is deemed a low risk jurisdiction. Picture: WA Health

The timing means Queenslanders will have to roll the dice and leave well before the results are known.

Fans would need to be in isolation in Perth by Saturday morning of the preliminary final in order to be released from quarantine in time to attend the grand final, left to simply hope Lions win at the Gabba that night, and their trip is not in vain.

Those with smaller aspirations will however be able to travel to Adelaide for the preliminary final, after South Australia lifted travel restrictions on 11 South East Queensland LGA’s on Tuesday.

WA Health regulations could prevent Brisbane members seeing the Lions play in the grand final should they make it. Picture: Jono Searle

A Brisbane Lions representative said their primary focus was on making the grand final.

But, if health advice permitted, the club said it would like to see the border eased to allow their 40,000 members to attend the decider should they make it.

“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge, we’d love for our members and fans in Queensland to be able to be able to support us in all of our Finals Series matches but the safety of the community is the most important consideration,” a spokesman said.

WA has already refused entry to former Collingwood president and media magnate Eddie McGuire, who was travelling from Victoria where there is an active outbreak.

“I’m disappointed, because we’d planned to do a lot of great things around the grand final,” told Perth’s Triple M breakfast team Basil, Xav and Jenna.

McGowan joked during his radio interview that he had denied McGuire’s exemption because he was “trying to protect him from Western Australians”.

“I’m doing it for his own good,” he said.

“He’s not happy, he wanted to come in, but unfortunately Eddie can’t come. He’s not essential for the game so he has to stay in Melbourne.”

WA will also deny exemptions to wives and girlfriends of players in the final.

AFL Fans Association president Cheryl Critchley said it had been a tough year for all members because of lockdowns and travel restrictions but the association respected all health advice.

“It is disappointing if fans from any state or territory can’t make it to see their team play finals live, but we accept that this is based on expert health advice,” Ms Critchley said.