AFL: Patrick Dangerfield warns of possible hub disruption in 2021

Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield said players needed to be mindful they may be forced to again spend segments of next season in hubs.

Courtney Walsh

Geelong’s All Australians Tom Hawkins, Patrick Dangerfield and Cameron Guthrie at training on Friday. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

3 min read

9:34PMSeptember 25, 2020

Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield said players needed to be mindful they may be forced to again spend segments of next season in hubs.

The AFL Players Association president, who was named captain of the All Australian side on Thursday night, said the uncertainty created by COVID-19 is likely to linger into 2021.

When the prospect of hubs was first raised this year, the AFLPA expressed significant concern at reports players could spend almost the entirety of the season interstate. With the AFL relocating from Victoria from July, most players have spent significant amounts of time away from home and Dangerfield is aware this could happen again.

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“I think we have to be. It is so difficult, as we all know, to try to predict the future, especially in a pandemic year which has thrown up all sorts of different scenarios. We have to be fluid and pivot,” he said. “Those have been the topical words throughout the year, so expect the unexpected as a competition, and that is hard because we are all trying to forecast how next year is going to be and run the competition as best as the AFL possibly can.

“There is no point locking in anything now because it has the ability to change. We have seen that with Victoria, with that second wave of COVID-19, so we all have to be mindful of that, notionally, that we are doing our bit.”

Collingwood flew from Queensland to Perth on Friday to spend more than a week in a quarantine hub in Joondalup ahead of next Saturday’s elimination final against the Eagles.

It is the latest example of the logistics issues the AFL has faced in 2020 but Taylor Adams, who was named an All Australian for the first time, said the Magpies could handle the challenge.

“We can choose to look at it two ways. There’s some negatives. We’d much rather be playing up here, where we are settled in,” he said. “(But) we’re used to having things thrown at us this year that may seem difficult. Some of the positives we will take away is we get eight days to get acclimatised.

“We’re looking forward to it. I feel like the boys really relish the opportunity of (having their) backs against the wall, us against them.

“We know we are a real shot at coming back with a win and our mindset is that our season doesn’t end next week.”

One Magpie not travelling to Perth is 2010 premiership player Ben Reid, who announced his retirement on Friday after suffering an injury setback at training.

The career of West Coast premiership defender Will Schofield is also coming to an end, though he will continue through until the end of the Eagles season.

The demands of next season, which are likely to require players and coaches to abide by stricter coronavirus protocols than the general community, is certain to weigh on the minds of players on the fringe of sides or reaching the latter stages of their careers.

Dangerfield, who described joining the greats as an eight-time All Australian as humbling, and the AFLPA are in the midst of discussions surrounding a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the league.

Among the points of contention is the size of lists as the league and union seek to find a balance between drastic cuts given the financial challenges facing the code.

“I wouldn’t expect there will be a huge change,” Dangerfield said.

“There might be a subtle difference of a few players, but that is still being worked through.

“Everyone would like (certainty) earlier, but given the intricacies of those negotiations, it is still going to take time.”

Another debate surrounds the lengths of quarters for next season, which was reduced from 20-minutes plus time-on to 16.5 minutes given the demands of 2020.

It is understood the AFL is contemplating 18-minute terms next season and Dangerfield said he would be in favour of slightly more time than this year.

“I think there is probably a sweet spot to be hit,” he said.

“We are not going to get to January and all of a sudden Covid disappears, so I think it is something we need to be mindful of, that it is still something that is going to be around next year.

“I don’t think reverting to 20-minute quarters is going to help that, because it is a big enough ask of our players as it is off 16 and a half minute quarters to turn around and play (matches) on four or five days time.”

First to fourth years footballers will return to their clubs in early December for a fortnight of training, with all players hitting the track from January 6.