AFL: South Australia’s border ruling complicates the fixture challenge

The SA Premier’s decision to abandon opening the border to Victoria adds a further layer of complexity for the AFL.

The AFL is working to reshape the fixture for the next fortnight while casting further afield for solutions after Victorians were locked out of Queensland and South Australia.

A spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria prompted state authorities to lockdown several suburbs for the next month in a bid to curb the transmission rate in Melbourne.

The recent surge has prompted concern in other states, which have moved to tighten quarantine restrictions. In turn, that has played havoc with the AFL’s calendar.

The decisions by the South Australian and Queensland governments added further layers of complexity to a logistic challenge that has already forced the AFL into repeated changes.

South Australian Premier Steve Marshall sent another shockwave through the competition by extending the border closure with Victoria beyond July 20 and reinstating quarantine provisions.

South Australian Premier Steve Marshall. Picture: Mark Brake

As a result, clubs from Victoria would be forced to quarantine before entering the state, which brings SA into line with Western Australia and Queensland.

The unbeaten Port Adelaide and the Crows are currently based at a hub in southeast Queensland. They were set to travel to Victoria for games in Round 7 on July 18.

But having redrawn this weekend’s round when Queensland altered regulations on Monday, the AFL is now reconsidering the fixture for Rounds 6 and 7.

The prospect of routing Victorian clubs from state to state to enable the season to progress is becoming more likely, so too the prospect of teams heading to hubs around the nation.

SA sports minister Corey Wingard said Victorian teams could be allowed to play games in Adelaide, which will allow crowds from next month, on the way home from other states.

“If they head to WA and play out of a bubble there and quarantine in a bubble before in WA before coming through Adelaide, that is something Health would have to look at, but it is something that could be on the cards,” he told SEN.

But the prospect of spending a lengthy time in hubs remains a concern for players.

AFL fixture boss Travis Auld said the league would look to cap stints away at between four and five weeks based on the feedback from Fremantle and West Coast, the first clubs to be relocated.

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Richmond captain Trent Cotchin said there is a “genuine chance” some Tigers could opt out of heading to a hub, noting there are clear reasons for players to be exempted.

Demon Jack Viney, for example, became a father shortly before Sunday’s clash against Geelong.

Carlton’s Eddie Betts trains with the Blues ahead of their rescheduled game againt St Kilda on Thursday night

Magpie Jordan Roughead, who is due to head to Perth with Collingwood for three weeks, revealed on radio recently that his wife had suffered a serious health scare.

“We have guys with pending babies and other challenges or things going on in their life that we will just have to manage accordingly and that is something we will manage inside of the club and make sure everyone is comfortable and happy,” he said.

“I think the most important thing is that our partners feel supported and have the required help that is going to be needed with players and coaches and staff being away for a period of time.”

Hawthorn’s Tom Scully said they were prepared to head into a hub said the individual choices of players needed to be respected.

“Certainly, yeah, we’ve got a number of players with young families and partners,” Scully said.

“So I think the club would be very accommodating to those players. I guess every player’s got different individual circumstances … one thing the Hawthorn Football Club are really good at is looking after their people and their welfare.

“So I’ve got no doubt the club would work individually with every player to make sure they’re comfortable, first and foremost, and if we get in that situation obviously trying to get a good outcome for everyone.”

Dealing with changing state regulations is not the only concern for the AFL, which is investigating another potential infraction of its COVID-19 guidelines by two Collingwood footballers.

Dual-Collingwood club champion Steele Sidebottom and injured defender Lynden Dunn are under the spotlight for multiple breaches of league guidelines introduced to safeguard the competition from the virus, where possible.

Sidebottom, an All Australian in 2018, is being investigated for catching an Uber, spending more than two hours in the company of another person and also visiting the home of former Collingwood player Daniel Wells.