AFL fixture: Rounds 6 and 7 revealed, tough rules for Collingwood and Geelong in WA hub
Collingwood and Geelong are set to find life tougher in a WA hub than teams currently based in Queensland. See what players will be allowed to do plus who your club will play in Rounds 6 and 7.
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Geelong and Collingwood will face stricter lockdown provisions than clubs housed in Queensland.
But clubs have set up working parties that will meet twice a week until they leave for Perth to try to gain the most flexibility possible for players.
Geelong and Collingwood are genuinely excited at the prospect of entering hubs, with the Pies an elite travelling team and the Cats usually finding a winter respite this time of year in northern states around an interstate trip.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE ROUND 6-7 FIXTURE
While the Western Australian and South Australian teams have the run of golf resorts in Queensland, Victorian players face a tougher lockdown period for 14 days.
They will likely have to spend long periods of time in their hotel rooms, which might make it harder for families with children.
Families would not be banned from attending but only a handful at most would be likely to take up the chance given those restrictions.
The view of the AFL is that the players will be going over for 14-day quarantine to get a job done for their teams in difficult circumstances.
The AFL and clubs are working with the WA Government on permission for players to have more freedom in hotels including access to a common area, pools and even an outside area.
Clubs will also have permission to train at football ovals and hold team meetings, which will allow them time away from their hotel rooms.
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Geelong and Collingwood will be in separate hotels and on separate flights to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus, so have different working parties.
Teams in Queensland have been able to play golf and leave their hubs to surf or go to cafes for takeaway coffees, but there will be no exemptions for those activities in Perth hubs.
Geelong is hosting the home game against Collingwood in front of up to 30,000 Optus Stadium fans, but ticketing revenue is expected to go to the AFL.
REVEALED: WHO YOUR CLUB PLAYS IN ROUNDS 6-7
Premiers Richmond will step foot out of Victoria only once in the first seven rounds of the season after being handed an MCG Grand Final rematch in Round 7 against Greater Western Sydney.
The league rubber-stamped the Round 7 fixture including a pair of Optus Stadium games that could draw a combined 90,000 fans, kickstarting footy’s economy once more.
As revealed by the Herald Sun on Thursday, Richmond takes on GWS at the MCG on the Sunday of Round 7 before a Sunday afternoon Fremantle-West Coast Derby.
Hawthorn hosts Essendon on Thursday night, before the Geelong-Collingwood game where both clubs could split gate takings in front of 30,000 fans at Optus Stadium.
Those clubs will be in quarantine for 14 days of their 21 or 22-day stay but have permission to play in that Friday night clash at Optus Stadium.
Richmond is yet to take advantage of a generous draw that sees it play premiership contender West Coast in Queensland instead of Optus Stadium given the Eagles are in a hub there until Round 6.
But they will dodge playing GWS and West Coast at their home grounds, playing St Kilda, West Coast (Metricon Stadium), North Melbourne (Marvel Stadium) and GWS (MCG) in the next four weeks.
The Tigers could still play Geelong at GMHBA Stadium but will not hub in Perth because they have already played West Coast.
Carlton, North Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn are other Melbourne teams likely to hub in West Australian hotels while playing both WA-based clubs.
After the three-week round-robin between the Perth teams, Collingwood and Geelong, teams will travel to Perth for 14 days and play both WA teams then return.
The WA teams will have already played, so the Victorian teams can play each other on the first weekend then take on the Eagles and Fremantle in crossover contests.
Gold Coast’s growing cache as a prime-time club will be enhanced by a second prime time game, the Suns broadcast on Channel 7 when they take on Carlton on Saturday night in Round 7.
Both Adelaide teams will be able to fly into Melbourne as South Australian border provisions ease.
Fremantle will host West Coast in the only Derby of the year, potentially tipping as much as $1 million into their coffers despite hosting the last Dockers-Eagles clash of last year.
The AFL expects Geelong and Collingwood will still attract an excellent Friday night crowd, which is capped at 30,000 fans before WA restrictions ease for the Sunday Derby.
If two Melbourne teams can draw a strong crowd _ as well as corporate support _ it will give the AFL a real incentive to draw big clubs in Optus Stadium games to continue drawing fans through turnstiles.
AFL fixturing boss Travis Auld said the league would not give away free tickets to that game because of the cost of putting on the game.
PIES, CATS LEFT IN THE DARK
Collingwood and Geelong players remain in the dark about whether they will be able to bring family members into the Perth hub next month.
The two clubs are hopeful partners and children will be able to base themselves in the same hotel as players for the three-week stay from July 11.
But the two clubs confirmed they were unclear on the specifics of the protocols which could limit the players to staying inside the hotel other than when they were training and playing.
Collingwood veteran defender Jordan Roughead said he would wait for more details on the hub situation and in particular family restrictions before committing to head west.
Roughead said he would give considerable thought to his wife who had recently endured a serious health issue before making any decisions.
“I won’t give you too much detail but my wife has just had a pretty significant health scare and whether or not to enter the hub is one that I’ll need to strongly consider on a personal front and certainly find out the detail of how long it is or the potential of families to come,” Roughead said on SEN.
“I’ve got to find out some information about what it looks like and what it looks like for myself and my wife.
“One of the challenges you don’t think about too is do your loved ones have to sit in hotel quarantine (while we’re allowed out to train and play).
“There are still some logistic things that have to be looked at.”
Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury is another who said he would “absolutely” want to bring his family including two young children.
The Magpies and Cats play each other first in Round 7 in Perth before alternating games against West Coast and Fremantle at Perth Stadium.
The two clubs could split the profit from any gate takings with crowds permitted into Optus Stadium for each of the three games in Rounds 7-9.
Geelong chief executive Brian Cook forecast a 30,000 – 40,000 crowd for the Collingwood and Geelong game.
He said the two clubs would help make up a working group to help thrash out issues with the hub before flying over.
“The only people who will be going over are pretty much the skeleton staff and a large number of players and of course a few families might as well,” Cook said.
“It’s going to be a pretty interesting time the three weeks in Perth.”
But there are unlikely to be many complaints from the two clubs amid questions about West Coast’s ability to handle the challenges of the Queensland hub.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said he was “excited” by the prospect of leading his side into an AFL hub in Western Australia rather than daunted by the challenge it presents.
Scott said the Cats were aware of their obligations to help keep the competition going in the face of unprecedented hurdles during the coronavirus pandemic.
He added there were positives to be taken from going away as a team and operating in a warmer climate during the middle of winter.
“We’re excited about the opportunity it presents,” Scott said.
“It’s a real privilege to be one of the clubs that’s allowed into WA.”
Scott said players would make their own calls on whether they wanted to come.
“That’s the way we run our footy club,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone should mistake our desire to have players live fulfilling lives outside of footy with a lack of ruthlessness and competitiveness to succeed.
“But if you want to make it a contest, if our players have obligations outside of their football life then that probably trumps the footy stuff.”
Scott tipped a healthy crowd would be on hand at Optus Stadium to see the first match played for AFL premiership points in Perth between two clubs from outside WA.
“I’m not sure that the bulk of West Australians love the Cats or the Pies but I think they’ve been starved of footy,” Scott said.
“It’s a unique opportunity for WA supporters to see two of the bigger Melbourne clubs go at each other.
“I suspect that a lot of the footy-mad people over there would go and watch anyone play right at the moment.”
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Originally published as AFL fixture: Rounds 6 and 7 revealed, tough rules for Collingwood and Geelong in WA hub
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