Clubs flying here, there and everywhere as Covid-19 chaos prompts change

Essendon is the only club of the four Victorian clubs which exited the state last week to remain on the Gold Coast as the AFL considers switching the order of matches to complete season.

Jake Stringer was dynamic for Essendon against North Melbourne on the Gold Coast but said there was stress leaving his kids back in Victoria. Picture: Michael Klein

It is the mantra crucial to success in the coronavirus affected age of footy. The club which handles the off-field chaos the best is the one most likely to prevail in the premiership race.

Richmond in 2020 were the perfect example, with the Tigers confident they had the talent, system and belief to overcome any adversity and to win anywhere.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge outlined what players are now dealing with weekly after their 11-point triumph over the Gold Coast on Saturday saw them reclaim second position.

“The boys probably hardly slept Wednesday night,” he said. “We got up here and spent the next couple of days just trying to work through our preparation. For players to suck that up and come out and perform the way they did is full of merit.”

There is only one certainty about the 2021 season. There are 54 games to play and the AFL will find a way to complete the year.

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It is just a matter of where, when and how. Everything else is in a state of flux, as the events of Sunday demonstrated.

North Melbourne boarded a plane to Queensland on Thursday believing they would be there for at least three weeks.

Instead they were on a flight home on Sunday night after their 18-point loss to Essendon — the Bombers are now in the eight as a result — and will play Carlton in Melbourne next Sunday.

The Bombers will stay on the Gold Coast for the next fortnight for matches against the Giants and Sydney as they seek to retain a spot in the eight.

Jake Stringer, who kicked four goals from late in the third term in an influential performance, said the success made being away from home a little easier.

“It makes it a bit easier when you get told you are coming up here, leaving the kids behind,” he said.

“I have three kids and didn’t get much of a goodbye. It is hard but it is what it is. We are just fortunate to be up here.”

Richmond also travelled home after their victory over the Lions on Friday night and will face the Cats next weekend, though it appears unlikely the match will be held in Geelong.

Dustin Martin remains in Queensland, where he will recuperate from a serious kidney injury that has ended his season.

The AFL is assessing the final five rounds of the season and considering making changes to the schedule in order to minimise travel.

The “Q Clash” between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which was scheduled for round 20, could be brought forward to next week instead, for example.

This will have a flow-on effect, with other matches changed as well.

Hawthorn was due to host Brisbane next weekend, while the top-placed Demons were to travel to the Northern Territory to play the Gold Coast, but border restrictions now apply.

It is possible two other round 20 matches could also be brought forward, including what would be an intriguing clash between the Demons and Western Bulldogs.

The days preceding this round were chaotic.

But there were fears worse was to unfold on Saturday when it was revealed several players and officials had attended the rugby union Test between the Wallabies and France at AAMI Stadium last Tuesday.

Hawthorn’s Conor Nash was withdrawn from their draw with Melbourne on Saturday night as a precaution as two areas of the ground were classified as Tier 1 exposure sites.

North Melbourne’s Will Walker and Bomber Andy McGrath, who is injured, are also in isolation for 14 days, though neither would have played on Sunday.

But every AFL-affiliated person who attended the match has recorded negative tests to date and there is optimism the league has dodged a bullet that could have caused significant disruption to the season.