AFL hubs: Families arrive at last minute to join AFL players in interstate hubs
Melbourne-based AFL clubs are settling into interstate home bases, with some breathing a sigh of relief after partners and children touched down hours before state borders close. Meanwhile, Melbourne has left behind nine players.
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The families of six Hawthorn stars, including Shaun Burgoyne, have managed to escape Melbourne on an emergency flight to join the Hawks hub in Coogee.
Relieved players ventured out to Sydney airport on Monday afternoon to greet partners and children on the tarmac, who had just made it into NSW before borders are closed to Victoria.
The AFL on Monday assisted with special flights to allow families to make it into the special northern hubs, with loved ones from Richmond and the Western Bulldogs also making it into Queensland.
Burgoyne has had his wife and four kids arrive at the beachside hotel Hawthorn will call home for the next month, while Ben McEvoy also had his entourage of three children and wife Nicki touch down to join him.
Paul Puopolo, Isaac Smith, James Frawley and Michael Hartley have also had family members fly into the hub.
Burgoyne spent his last hours’ child-free at Coogee beach on Monday, getting smashed by waves, before seeking calmer waters in the ocean pool and enjoying a coffee outdoors with Hawks teammates in one of Sydney’s most idyllic suburbs.
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Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said on Sunday night after his side’s loss to GWS that seven players had been given the option of bringing their families, but that he was unsure who would take up the opportunity.
Geelong coach Chris Scott has said he will reach out to Australian Test coach Justin Langer and captain Tim Paine for advice on how to navigate life on the road, given how much time cricketers spend away from families every year.
However, Clarkson believes sourcing outside advice would be largely a waste of time given the uniqueness of what AFL clubs are confronting.
“Every club will do it their different way. I don’t think there’s any one way to do it, to be fair,” Clarkson said as he prepares for a Friday night blockbuster against Collingwood at Giants Stadium off a five-day turnaround.
“We’ll find our way. The culture of our club and how we go about things.
“By and large we have to find what best fits for us. We can ask West Coast what they’re doing, but … they’ve got a different routine to what we’ve got.
“For cricketers and other sports it’s a different kettle of fish, too. Cricketers are usually away without any coronavirus, so there’s no protocols or restrictions that provide constraints for them.
“We can search far and wide for different ways that you can go about it, but by and large you just have to trust your instinct on what you think is the best preparation for your group of players and staff and that’s the way we’ll go about it.”
NINE DEMONS STAY HOME FROM HUB
Melbourne has left nine players behind in Melbourne for an intensive training block as it considers a rejig of its failing forward line.
The Demons left Melbourne at 8.30pm on Sunday night, having decided against taking a full list to their Manly training base ahead of a clash against Gold Coast at Giants Stadium on Saturday.
Six Melbourne clubs — Essendon, Carlton, St Kilda, Richmond, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne — have flown out to their new Queensland training bases in time for Monday night’s quarantine deadline. The Tigers and Bulldogs shared a Virgin flight on Monday.
Hawthorn will be based in Sydney along with the Demons. Hawks players stayed in NSW after playing the Giants at Giants Stadium on Sunday night.
Demons players including Jack Viney, Jake Lever, Tom McDonald, Nathan Jones and Jake Melksham travelled with their families.
Jack Viney’s wife Charlotte only gave birth to daughter Mila Grace in the last fortnight.
But coach Simon Goodwin confirmed after the 27-point loss to Melbourne the club would leave a group behind to ensure the club’s focus was on winning games of football.
Players including Braydon Preuss, Oskar Baker, Josh Wagner and Corey Wagner have been left behind to conduct intensive coaching with several assistant coaches.
Richmond veterans Bachar Houli and Shane Edwards have chosen to stay in Melbourne for ramily reasons, while spearhead Tom Lynch will catch a later flight after having surgery on his hand on Monday.
All aboard 😊 #gotiges pic.twitter.com/y4QurFxq92
— Richmond FC ðŸ¯ðŸ† (@Richmond_FC) July 6, 2020
The Demons chose the players on their list that were closest to senior selection for the next batch of five games over 32 days.
The Demons left Harley Bennell, Mitch Brown and Sam Weideman out of their side against Richmond despite the club’s continued forward connectivity issues.
They played in a scratch match against Richmond over the weekend at Punt Road.
And while Goodwin will not tip the side on its head there will be intense pressure to play Bennell and one of those key forwards.
The Demons cannot score more than 10 goals so far this year, having cobbled together scores of 51, 54, 44 and 52 points.
They are at 1-3 with a make-up game against Essendon to come, and a loss to the Giants would heap more pressure on them given their expectations of being a premiership contender.
BOMBERS HIT THE ROAD
Essendon players flew out of Melbourne on Monday morning.
The Bombers will hub in Queensland and will take on North Melbourne on Saturday night.
So long, Melbourne 👋 pic.twitter.com/sIzeX62QOg
— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) July 6, 2020
NOOSA GETAWAY: SAINTS TO HANG IN THE SUN
St Kilda players will board a bus at around 7.30am on Sunday morning to travel from the club’s Noosa hub to Metricon Stadium.
The two-and-a-half hour drive to the Gold Coast venue — and early alarm for this week’s 12.35pm clash against Fremantle — shapes as a rare drawback from winning the AFL’s hub lottery, with the Saints taking control of the RACV Noosa Resort.
Saints recruit Zak Jones and Dockers captain Nat Fyfe are likely to return from minor hamstring injuries in that clash.
Like all clubs quarantining in Queensland, the Saints are unable to leave the resort for the first 14 days, except for training.
On day 15 the Saints will fly to Adelaide for their Round 7 clash against the Crows and then return to Noosa on July 21.
They will then be permitted to surf, play golf, fish and enjoy the beautiful surrounds of the holiday town.
Hawthorn (Coogee) and Melbourne (Manly) will not have to quarantine after being sent to Sydney on Sunday.
The Saints will train at the nearby Noosa Football Club and the Maroochydore Football Club, which is 35km away.
The RACV Resort had been closed to the public recently because of construction works.
Dietitian Alison Miles jetted to Noosa with the Saints after other staff members in the club’s bubble were unable to attend.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is driving optimism and a “sense of adventure” around his club’s trip to Gold Coast.
Every Bulldog will attend and Beveridge encouraged all “six or seven” players with young families to take their loved ones as the club embraces the hub set up as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
They fly north at 1pm on Monday, sharing a flight with Richmond.
“That’ll be great to have the girls along and have the toddlers and the infants and a couple more that are a little bit more grown up,” Beveridge said.
“You blink and they’ve changed. You pick them up in the morning and they look different, and you wouldn’t deny that (bringing family) of any young man.”
Premiership captain Easton Wood is taking pregnant wife Tiffany and daughter Matilda while forward Mitch Wallis is bringing wife Emily and newborn daughter Charlotte.
Spearhead Josh Bruce’s pregnant wife Pip and daughter Poppy will also be on the plane while utility Jackson Trengove’s partner Stephanie and their kids Sopgia, Isaiah and Zalia are also likely to attend.
Norm Smith Medallist Jason Johannisen and Tom Liberatore had children in the off-season with Johannisen’s partner Logan having baby girl Lola and Liberatore’s partner Malia giving birth to their son Oscar.
Bruce was relieved the AFL approved his request because the couple has no family in Victoria and potential border closures could’ve left his Canberrian wife stuck here.
The AFL is footing the bill for all travel, meals and accommodation costs in the knowledge that the mega expense will be a lot cheaper than failing to get games played.
Bruce said golf clubs and surfboards would be driven up after about 12 days so players weren’t tempted to break quarantine rules.
While Melbourne clubs are lapping up the opportunity and keen to take their families, West Coast and Fremantle entered their Gold Coast hub with a different mindset.
Eagles Tim Kelly, Tom Hickey and Liam Ryan were the only players to bring family while the younger Dockers opted to travel without any family.
Touched down in QLD 🛬 pic.twitter.com/BDKJaug3Ha
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) July 5, 2020
Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey told the Herald Sun recently that players needed to bond while on tour together.
“He’s (son Louis) 19 months old and if I was home for six of those months I’d be surprised,” Carey said.
“I’m sure that with 22 other mates there they’ll enjoy their time together (in AFL hubs). You just lean on your mates and your teammates.
“They become quite close family, really. Being away from your family so long it’s a bit of a brotherhood.”
Melbourne defender Neville Jetta’s wife Samantha and their kids Kyree and Nalani were one of the Demon families on the club’s 8.30pm Sunday flight.
Jetta bravely told the Herald Sun earlier this year that two-day interstate trips could be problematic due to Samantha’s anxiety and depression battles.
ABLETT’S SON DIAGNOSED WITH RARE DISEASE
Geelong champion Gary Ablett Jr will board a flight to Sydney on Sunday night despite revealing his son Levi had been diagnosed with a rare, degenerative disease.
A day after he kicked a long-range goal in his 350th AFL game at GMHBA Stadium, he posted on Instagram about his private pain.
He said wife Jordan’s mother was battling cancer, with son Levi diagnosed recently with an unnamed disease.
Ablett’s Cats will leave for Sydney sharing a plane with Melbourne players at 8.30pm on Sunday night, with Victorian clubs to be in interstate hubs for at least 32 days.
Dual Brownlow Medallist Ablett is in his final season of a decorated career but will make the sacrifice of being away from family for only a month.
Levi was born in January 2019 as the next generation Ablett in one of footy’s most famous families.
“My wife and I have privately fought and continue to fight some pretty tough battles,” Ablett posted on social media on Sunday.
“Some of you might already know that Jordan is caring for her mum as she battles with cancer. But what many of you don’t know is that our son has been recently diagnosed with a rare and degenerative disease.
“After a great amount of thought and consideration, we decided that it’s time to share this with you. We thank you for your love and support and want to emphasise just how grateful we are to be Levi’s parents.
He is a true blessing to us and our family and we love him so deeply. Anyone who knows him knows how full of joy he is and how he always has a smile on his face.”
The Cats will take a full squad interstate, staying in the Sydney CBD for a week before moving to Perth until early August.
TIGERS TO STAY IN MELBOURNE
Meanwhile, Richmond senior club advisor Neil Balme said on 3AW Radio pre-match that the Tigers had several senior players who would not go north.
It is understood coach Damien Hardwick will confirm in his post-match press conference that Bachar Houli and Shane Edwards will instead stay with their partners.
He said the Tigers would leave some of their younger players at Punt Rd for intense one-on-one coaching sessions.
Tigers star Bachar Houli’s wife has just given birth to their third child, a boy, in recent days, while Shane Edwards’ partner is due in August.
Yeah, there are a couple who won’t go,” Balme said.
“And we will probably make a decision on some of our younger guys.
“There are a few who we think are unlikely to play a game so they are almost wasting their time and we think we will leave them back here with some coaches so they can get some genuine one-on-one improvement so later in the season they will make a difference rather than making the numbers up. In Gold Coast we will be focused on winning games, not doing as much development.”
The Tigers’ call comes as cricket legend Shane Warne called on families of professional sports people to be understanding.
“I know it’s tough & when players / partners signed up there was no big time away like cricket – but playing prof sport at the top level requires sacrifices & your family should understand,” Warne wrote on Twitter.
Lots of whispers re players not wanting to leave families behind & go to a hub in the @AFL ! I know it’s tough & when players / partners signed up there was no big time away like cricket - but playing prof sport at the top level requires sacrifices & your family should understand
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) July 5, 2020
HOW CLUBS ARE EVACUATING VICTORIA
Carlton, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs will share the Gold Coast Mercure as AFL clubs frantically leave Victoria for hubs in northern states.
Collingwood today flew out of Melbourne for their week-long hub in NSW.
Six Victorian teams will hub in Queensland, with four to be in NSW for a week before the Pies and Geelong fly to Perth after their weekend clashes.
It is understood the Dogs, North Melbourne and Carlton will share different sections of the Gold Coast Mercure.
They will be sectioned off into different areas of the resort but allowed to share a common pool with appropriate social distancing.
St Kilda will stay at the RACV Noosa, Essendon will be at the Mantra Southport and Richmond will be at KDV Southport, a new sports resort.
Essendon and one other club will move into the Royal Pines on July 11 when West Coast and Fremantle go back to Perth after weeks in that hub.
The Dons and Kangaroos will share a flight out of Melbourne into Queensland on Monday.
Teams in Queensland will be in 14-day quarantine which will allow them the run of those resorts but see them prevented from golfing, surfing and fishing.
After 14 days they will be out of quarantine for fly-in, fly-out football and be allowed more freedom.
Hawthorn will stay at the Crown Plaza in Coogee, Geelong is at the Pullman in Hyde Park and Gold Coast is staying at the Novotel in Wollongong.
Clubs in NSW are allowed the same restrictions they were before relocating which means they can golf, surf, fish and go for takeaway coffees.
But clubs have been warned any more covid breaches could see their entire teams sent home from those states in a disastrous development for the AFL.
Western Bulldogs forward Josh Bruce, fresh from six goals on Saturday night, told Channel 9 on Sunday he was only going because his family could come with him.
“Information is pretty scarce. We fly out tomorrow (Monday) at 1pm, stay at the Mercure there and there is a golf course but we can‘t use it until 14 days so we will take golf clubs and a surf board up but they will only drive them up after 12 days. We are just confined to the resort for 14 days. We just got confirmation my family and families at the Dogs are allowed to come with (us). I am very excited to have my daughter and pregnant wife Pip come up and get some sunshine in the sunshine state.
“If they weren‘t allowed to go, Pip is heavily pregnant and we don’t have any family in Victoria so it would have been a really difficult one.
“I am really grateful the AFL has allowed that to happen and we are going out of our way to help this season keep ticking along so I am grateful I don‘t have to make that difficult decision.”
Western Bulldogs forward Mitch Wallis says he hopes fans recognise and respect the sacrifices players and their families are making to keep the season alive as the last of the Victorian clubs flee the state for at least a month.
Every Bulldogs player is set to fly out to a Gold Coast hub on Monday, with as many as seven to be joined by their young children and partners.
Wallis and his wife Emily, who welcomed their first child Charlotte into the world just two weeks ago, are one of those families moving together to the Gold Coast.
“I would never leave my wife by herself,” Wallis told the Herald Sun.
“I love her dearly and she loves footy as well and is my biggest support network. So to be able to go away to a hub for X amount of days and to have her wanting to come and wanting to bring our child up and support us through that, I can’t be more grateful for her support.
“The first two weeks of quarantine are going to be interesting, but the club have been really good with providing support and wanting the girls and the families to come up where possible. I definitely wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Wallis said coach Luke Beveridge had rallied the group together, urging them to take up the challenges of the season as one.
“We are all in this together,” Wallis said.
“Bevo and the leadership group have really pushed trying to get the whole club, the whole 44 players on the list up there. Because it’s about everyone.
“I know we get compared to a lot of other sports where athletes have to leave for long periods of time but for AFL footy these are uncharted waters. There’s got to be a little bit of flexibility and understanding this is not our normal and we’re trying to make it work and doing as best we can.
“We’re being nimble, but this is not our normal and people are making very big sacrifices to ensure that footy stays alive and that footy can be delivered to the people.”
Vic clubs scramble to bring hub move forward
Melbourne clubs will begin flying out for hubs on Sunday in an urgent move to avoid the city’s escalating COVID-19 crisis.
An industry source told News Corp most, if not all, clubs were expected to fly out Sunday.
The news comes as Victoria was hit with another 108 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with North Melbourne hardest hit.
Collingwood was scheduled to fly out to Sydney on Monday but their travel plans have been brought forward by 48 hours.
The Pies will now depart about lunchtime on Sunday for their clash against Hawthorn on Friday night at Giants’ Stadium.
They’ll then fly to Perth for a three-game second leg.
See you later Melbourne. 👋🼠pic.twitter.com/wfcQ6gzKve
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) July 5, 2020
St Kilda and Carlton will be the next clubs to depart Melbourne today as the AFL rushes to move teams out of Victoria.
The Saints and Blues are set to fly out of the city about 3pm after the league on Saturday made the call to bring forward clubs’ departures
Both clubs will be based in Queensland for the next phase of the fixture as Victoria attempts to get on top of its COVID-19 spike.
St Kilda will hub in Noosa and Carlton will setup on Gold Coast.
The Cats and Demons will fly out at 8:30pm tonight.
More than half of the Kangaroos list lives in Victoria’s COVID-19 hot spots, meaning the club will be forced to take one of the largest AFL groups into their Queensland hub.
Already, the club had to move 12 players – including skipper Jack Ziebell – from the suburbs currently under lockdown.
That number has escalated significantly with North Melbourne, Flemington and Kensington added to the State Government’s no-go edict from 11.59 on Saturday, with up to 10 staff also affected.
It is understood North Melbourne recently moved a further three players – Luke McDonald, Taylor Garner and Tom Campbell – from neighbouring zones, making a total of 15 players who have changed addresses.
The Kangaroos were scheduled to leave Melbourne for the Gold Coast at 11.30am on Monday, sharing a plane once more with Essendon, a team they will play at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
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North plans to take all of its injured players into the hub, with a number of them, including Nick Larkey, Kayne Turner, Garner, Dom Tyson, Ed Vickers Willis, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Majak Daw, nearing AFL returns.
If the injured players and others on the cusp of selection are not allowed to go on what will be a five-week relocation, there are fears their seasons and even careers could be seriously compromised – and their living arrangements also affected.
“It is a logistical nightmare for us, given the fact we have been impacted by the hot spots,” a club spokesman said on Saturday.
“Time is not on our side.
“We can’t sit back and wait as that could mean players are compromised, their seasons are compromised and their careers are potentially compromised if we don’t take them. We are not prepared to do that to those guys.
“One of our values is ‘family’ and we will stick together.”
A phone hook up in recent days with Kangaroos head of football Brady Rawlings saw all 45 players on the club’s list commit to being part of a hub.
The families of eight Kangaroos’ players will be a part of the club’s group, including nine children, with six of the nine under the age of two not adding to the cost.
BYE ON CARDS TO ALLOW VIC CLUBS’ HOMECOMING
AFL fixture boss Travis Auld has assured players of the 10 Victorian club about to hit the road for a five-week hub experience that he wants them to return home at the end of that period, which could mean a bye or split round is on the cards.
As the AFL gave players about to enter hubs a warning that they face heavy penalties if they breach protocols, Auld said the 2020 season could yet push into November or even December, given the alarming COVID-19 spike in Victoria and tightening border restriction.
Asked about the penalties players could face in the wake of Steele Sidebottom‘s four-game suspension, Auld said: “They understand it and they understand the consequences.”
“I think in some ways, it is actually easier when those guys are on the road in these hubs with all the staff there,” Auld told SEN.
“They are going to knuckle down and focus on footy in the next month.”
Auld could announced one or two more rounds within the next week, but stressed the fixture would remain fluid as he forecast some teams could have four-day breaks if the AFL needs to squeeze in matches.
“We’re promising we’ll get that 32 days done, get everyone back home and then reset,” Auld said on Triple M.
“Something might happen between now and then, so nothing’s absolutely certain.
“We’ll continue to reassess as things change … if things don’t change in Victoria in terms of the border restrictions, then maybe we do bring them back, maybe we need to look at a split round or a bye, I’m not sure.”
He said the AFL had not locked into any specific end date to the season, saying: “It might be (late) October, it might be November, it could even be December.”
He said setting up hubs for the Victorian teams had been a serious challenge.
“We are moving 700 people out of Victoria over the next couple of days, not just into accommodation, but into training facilities and stadia,” he said.
“It’s quite an exercise.”
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson confirmed that the Hawks‘ entire squad would travel to its new base in Coogee, and anticipated to be away for “four or five weeks”.
And he was encouraging activities outside of football to keep players engaged.
“We’ve been preparing our players for a fair period of time that there was a chance that they’re going into a hub,“ he said on Saturday.
“Each player had gone through that with their families. Every player is keen to come and participate and we’ll see where it all goes.
“Because there’s a little bit of downtime, it’s actually really important in our view that they do have some activities that they can do outside of just footy, otherwise we’ll all go stir crazy.”
Carlton will fly north on Sunday with its player numbers still to be confirmed.
Melbourne too won’t lock in its hub numbers until it completes its clash with Richmond on Sunday.
Adelaide has taken its entire list to the Gold Coast.
Crows assistant coach Brent Reilly said that had been a good decision, despite the club‘s struggles on the field.
“Being up here in a hub has been really good for our group, to bond and build those relationships,” he said.
With Glenn McFarlane and Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Originally published as AFL hubs: Families arrive at last minute to join AFL players in interstate hubs
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