AFL 2021: Latest updates, news on how Victoria’s Covid-19 crisis will impact the season
Geelong is yet to receive an SA Health exemption to stay in Adelaide overnight, leaving its scheduled Thursday game against Port Adelaide in limbo.
Geelong players will be forced into a hard lockdown in their homes on Monday to prepare for a Thursday blockbuster in Adelaide that is still not confirmed in the AFL’s fixture.
Port Adelaide is preparing to host the Thursday night Adelaide Oval game but SA Health is still yet to grant permission for the Cats to fly into Adelaide.
At issue is the Thursday night game which would require Geelong to remain overnight in the city given the 7.10pm local start time.
The Herald Sun understands Geelong players will be effectively locked in their homes for the next three days to ensure they comply with SA Health regulations.
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But with Geelong not governed by the same COVID provisions as Melbourne, some players will decide to quarantine by themselves in hotels.
If players who have school-age children and partners who are working quarantined at home, their families would be locked in with them and not able to go to school or work.
Some of Collingwood’s players quarantined at a South Melbourne hotel on Thursday night before the entire squad spent Friday night there, with players having to wait for four hours to receive negative COVID tests when they arrived in Adelaide on Saturday morning.
Host broadcaster Seven will be desperate for the game to remain as a Thursday blockbuster, especially given the following week’s Thursday game (West Coast-Richmond) has been brought forward to Round 13.
But a 7.10pm star time would not allow the Cats enough time to fly out of Adelaide Airport by the 11pm hard curfew.
The AFL could push the game back two days to a twilight Saturday contest to allow for negative COVID tests for Geelong players in a fly-in fly-out manner identical to Collingwood’s Saturday trip to Adelaide.
But it would see Seven losing that game after already losing Thursday week’s contest.
SA Health could yet grant the Cats an exemption to remain in Adelaide overnight with Melbourne’s COVID numbers improving and Geelong not in lockdown.
Port Adelaide will be desperate for the game not to be moved to a neutral venue like the SCG because the game will be a huge money spinner, with corporate areas already sold out at Adelaide Oval.
SA Health chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier will need to make a ruling in the next 48 hours about the game.
TIGERS, EAGLES TO MEET IN WA
Richmond and West Coast will play in a Sunday night clash at Perth Stadium next week after both teams agreed to push their bye back in a round 13 fixture reshuffle.
The Tigers and the Eagles had been scheduled to have the week off, but the AFL has agreed to move their round 14 game forward four days after consulting with both clubs.
Instead of being played on Thursday, June 17 as the start of round 14, the match has been brought forward to Sunday, June 13 (at 7.20pm AEST) as the likely penultimate game of round 13.
Richmond, who played Essendon in a sold-out Dreamtime clash in Perth on Saturday night, will return to Sydney for the week before heading back to Perth to take on the Eagles.
The AFL has yet to finalise the rest of its matches for round 13, but will likely release the full details in the coming days.
Much of the focus will centre on whether Geelong will be allowed to fly-in and fly-out to take on Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, a match which is scheduled for Thursday night.
Already the Queen’s Birthday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne has been transferred from the MCG to the SCG on Monday week.
By returning to Sydney immediately after the Dreamtime game, the Tigers will be able to avoid full-blown hotel quarantine conditions in Western Australia.
Hotel staff in Perth sported high-grade PPE when they checked in – including face shields.
The Tigers are hoping to secure the same Coogee accommodation they stayed in last week, where they would be free to roam around, while still abiding by Victorian-like restrictions.
Richmond would have spent 17-18 nights on the road by the time they fly home after next Sunday’s game against West Coast.
AFL Executive General Manager Clubs and Broadcasting Travis Auld confirmed the Tigers-Eagles switch on Saturday, saying eight teams – Adelaide, Collingwood, Fremantle, Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, Sydney, and West Coast – will now have a bye in round 14.
“The decision to bring forward the West Coast Eagles versus Richmond game was made following close consultation with both clubs, the AFLPA and the Western Australian State Government and is considered the best approach having regard to various border restrictions and associated travel requirements,” Auld said.
“Richmond will return to Sydney after their Dreamtime match before travelling to Perth ahead of their match against the Eagles next Sunday and both teams will now serve their bye in round 14.
“The priority of the AFL continues to be the safety and wellbeing of the community and we will continue to make the relevant changes to ensure that remains the priority.”
The Tigers-Eagles match will be broadcast on Seven and Fox Footy, as well as streamed on Kayo, with tickets to go on sale to the general public on Wednesday.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan told all 784 players last week they would spend no more than three continuous weeks in interstate hubs, which means the Tigers have maxed out their trip.
“I’ve got a wife at home with a 11-week-old and a two-and-a-half-year old,” Richmond assistant coach Xavier Clarke told News Corp. “I’m looking forward to getting home.”
Queens Birthday clash moved to Sydney
Sydney has been crowned the host of the Queen’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood with the SCG to secure the relocated marquee contest.
The league officially moved Monday week’s fixture on Friday night, as the Demons work on recouping lost funds for the MCG game through a commercial deal with the SCG.
The league is adamant it does not want to play the game in front of an empty MCG.
Just as Essendon will secure nearly $1 million in profit from its one-off venue deal with Optus Stadium for its Dreamtime clash against Richmond, the Queen’s Birthday clash is also commercially attractive.
Despite Collingwood’s lowly ladder position, the Pies still have massive pulling power and brand appeal in NSW, and Melbourne is one of footy’s hottest teams.
The league will hold the game on Monday week in Sydney while broadcasting the Freeze MND slide into the now-traditional ice bath with its celebrity sliders live from the MCG.
North Melbourne has ambitions to play a trio of Hobart games in successive weeks.
Geelong is also hopeful of flying into Adelaide next Thursday to take on Port Adelaide under similar restrictions to the ones Collingwood face this weekend.
But the current Thursday night fixture would see them having to spend a night in Adelaide so they would need to be granted permission by SA Health.
North Melbourne is confident of being granted permission to play a trio of games in Hobart in successive weeks that would see the Roos flying in and out of Tasmania on game day.
The Roos are already scheduled to take on Greater Western Sydney next Sunday (Round 13) and then Gold Coast in Round 15.
The Herald Sun can reveal the AFL has pitched to the AFL and Tasmanian state government the idea of also shifting its round 14 clash against Brisbane from Marvel Stadium.
That would see the Roos play three games in a row, with hopes they could also play their later scheduled game against Geelong later in the year.
North Melbourne chief executive Ben Amarfio had proposed the Roos relocating to Hobart for three weeks and remaining in the state to play the games.
But the Tasmanian health authorities prefer the fly-in fly-out model which would see the players enter the state on a chartered plane and then driving straight to Blundstone Arena.
Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann said on Friday the Lions were happy to play in Tasmania instead of at Marvel Stadium.
The Tasmanian government is still assessing the proposal and the Covid numbers in Victoria before ticking off on the three-week stint.
But the Roos and AFL are hopeful as case numbers ease the games could go ahead, starting next Sunday.
“It’s moving in a positive direction. The chief health officer still needs to give his approval but we would be very restricted. We would have exclusive flights, an exclusive bus into the stadium so we would be in a really tight bubble,” Amarfio said on Friday.
The Roos have a commercial agreement with the Spirit of Tasmania but were not paid the games-based component of last year’s deal.
Visitors from Queensland and New South Wales could still visit Tasmania to watch their teams in coming weeks, with their borders open to the state.
On Friday night all Collingwood staff and players will quarantine in Hotel Como before flying out to Adelaide on Saturday morning.
They will be tested when they arrive on Saturday and will only be allowed to take part in the game when they receive an expedited negative result.
North’s bold plan for Hobart stint revealed
North Melbourne is confident of being granted permission to play a trio of games in Hobart in successive weeks that would see the Roos flying in and out of Tasmania on game day.
The Roos are already scheduled to take on Greater Western Sydney next Sunday (Round 13) and then Gold Coast in Round 15.
The Herald Sun can reveal that North has pitched to the AFL and Tasmanian state government the idea of also shifting its Round 14 clash against Brisbane from Marvel Stadium.
That would see the Roos playing three games in a row, with hopes they could also play their later scheduled game against Geelong later in the year.
That game is in Round 20, so the Roos are hopeful they will be able to draw a strong contingent of travelling Cats fans.
North Melbourne chief executive Ben Amarfio had proposed the Roos relocating to Hobart for three weeks and remaining in the state to play the games.
But the Tasmanian health authorities prefer the fly-in fly-out model which would see the players enter the state on a chartered plane and then driving straight to Blundstone Arena.
The Tasmanian government is still assessing the proposal and the Covid numbers in Victoria before ticking off on the three-week stint.
But the Roos and AFL are hopeful as case numbers ease the games could go ahead, starting next Sunday.
“It’s moving in a positive direction. The chief health officer still needs to give his approval but we would be very restricted. We would have exclusive flights, an exclusive bus into the stadium so we would be in a really tight bubble,” Amarfio said on Friday.
The Roos have a commercial agreement with the Spirit of Tasmania but were not paid the games-based component of last year’s deal.
Visitors from Queensland and New South Wales could still visit Tasmania to watch their teams in coming weeks, with their borders open to the state.
Geelong is also hopeful of flying into Adelaide next Thursday to take on Port Adelaide under similar restrictions to the ones Collingwood face this weekend.
On Friday night all Collingwood staff and players will quarantine in a city hotel before flying out to Adelaide on Saturday morning.
They will be tested when they arrive on Saturday and will only be allowed to take part in the game when they receive an expedited negative result.
Why ‘suspicious’ Bevo says fixture could change again
The Western Bulldogs have no guarantees they will return to Melbourne for their bye break after Sunday’s clash with Fremantle.
Coach Luke Beveridge says he has “a suspicious feeling” a possible AFL fixture switch could see them stay in Perth for longer.
Melbourne’s lockdown was extended for another seven days on Wednesday and Beveridge said the club did not expect further clarity on their movements until later in the week.
“No, we haven’t got that guarantee (to return to Melbourne),” Beveridge said on SEN.
“That’s what I am talking about living in the moment.
“We take some solace in the fact that the Hawks have gone on a bit of a break and come home (from Sydney), and we just hope that happens.”
The Bulldogs, currently in Sydney, are scheduled to have a bye following the match against Fremantle at Perth Stadium before clashes with Geelong (at GMHBA Stadium) and West Coast (in Perth).
Meanwhile, Perth Stadium has sold out for Saturday night’s rescheduled Dreamtime game.
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The regular MCG fixture between Richmond and Essendon, which was moved to Perth because of Victoria’s Covid lockdown, will be played in front of a packed house of 60,000 fans.
“Tickets for Dreamtime went on sale yesterday evening and within hours there were 50,000 tickets sold with the game officially selling out earlier today,” AFL executive Kylie Rogers said on Wednesday.
“We thank each and every one of those football fans for their support and interest in what is the showpiece game of Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
“We can’t wait to showcase this important celebration to Western Australian footy fans and commended everyone involved in re-organising the game to make it a memorable one.”
The AFL noted: “Further tickets may become available as a result of unused allocations, and if so, a secondary release of tickets will occur on Friday, June 4 at 11am AWST.”
Beverdige said the club had suspicions the AFL could yet alter the fixture, potentially bringing forward their clash with the Eagles into next week while they were already in Perth.
“We have got Geelong and then West Coast (in rounds 13 and 14), and everybody has got this sort of suspicious feeling that maybe the games – if they can do it – can be moved forward and we stay in Perth and play West Coast the following week,” he said.
“Maybe the Geelong game is put (back), but I am not sure if that’s achievable.”
He said the Bulldogs wouldn’t have a problem with that sort of fixture shift as long as the AFL gave them a guarantee they could then return home to Melbourne for their break.
“I think you have to weigh up the whole equation … if we were to stay in Perth and play West Coast with a guarantee that we could then break and have some time when we could have some freedoms (in Victoria), it might not be such a bad outcome,” he said.
“But if that’s not the case, I think we would all rather come home … and focus on Geelong on the Friday after the bye break.”
Beveridge reiterated his fears that more AFL club employees could walk away from the game if the financial cutbacks of Covid continued to bite into the club heartland.
“The gloss of working for an AFL club has worn off for many,” he said.
“People were thinking about what they wanted to do career-wise at the end of last year, now many people are really thinking about what their next move is.
“The main origin of my paranoia is losing good people. We have already lost a lot of good people and the prospect of losing more is very real.”
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