Coronavirus: Eddie McGuire calls for calm as AFL tries to clear health hurdles

As Victoria’s players headed to Marvel Stadium for coronavirus testing, key states threatened to block a return to action.

Collingwood AFL club president Eddie McGuire. Picture: AAP

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has called for calm in the AFL industry as the league seeks to solve issues on a number of fronts prior to the announcement of a restart of the season next month.

The chief problem for the AFL, which is expected to announce a return-to-play model and starting date this week, is satisfying key states about the strength of the league’s COVID-19 protocols.

As Victorian-based footballers began arriving at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday morning to undergo testing for coronavirus, the league was working through these issues with state authorities.

South Australia has asked for further detail from the AFL regarding its protocols before it will grant Port Adelaide and the Crows exemptions from quarantine in relation to flying in and out of the state for matches.

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said in Adelaide on Wednesday morning he still believed the SA government would provide an exemption to the two sides.

SA Premier Steve Marshall indicated last week that his preference would be for this to occur in the interim, but health authorities in the state still have concerns.

The state’s chief health officer Nicola Spurrier said the AFL plan, which was updated on Tuesday night, posed a degree of risk to the state.

“It’s a very complex matter and we’re at a very, very critical point in our fight against COVID-19,” she told the ABC in Adelaide.

“Now I gather the AFL do want a decision but, again, we do need to make sure that (we’re) doing everything to protect the state.

“It is important then when we have an organisation like the AFL looking to start up their football that we have to look at all the risks. My job, when I go to work, is the safety of all South Australians and I have to take that very seriously.”

Richmond star Dustin Martin arrives at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne for coronavirus testing. Picture: AAP

McGuire, who is a member of the AFL’s coronavirus crisis cabinet, said the AFL understood there would be challenges as it edges towards a final decision.

But he felt it was important for the league to outline its plans while noting there are a number of moving parts to negotiations.

“We still think that is a chance but we will have to wait and see. It is up to the premier and the state officials. No-one is arcing up about it. If that is the way they go, that is the way they go,” he said on Triple M.

“What does have to happen at some stage is that the AFL has to say, ‘Right. This is what is going to happen from here.’ If we are going to bounce the ball at 2pm on Saturday afternoon, we need you to be here, otherwise you are out.

“I am not calling for people to be kicked out of the competition but what I am saying is that I think it is nearly time for the AFL to put down plan A, where everyone can fly in and fly out, here is plan B, where the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle might have to come to a hub, maybe for the first month, this is what that looks like, and here is what it looks like if we have to get South Australian clubs out as well.”

Richmond’s Toby Nankervis at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

The AFL Players Association will brief its members about the situation involving hubs, among other issues, on Wednesday.

Gold Coast Suns chief executive Mark Evans confirmed players will be restricted in terms of social interactions for the season in a bid to protect the industry from the virus.

AFLPA president Patrick Dangerfield said he believed footballers were prepared to embrace tougher restrictions on a personal level to ensure the season could be played.

“If that’s what we’ve got to do, then that’s what we’ll do,” he told SEN. “We’ve got a responsibility and we understand where the game’s at, and we want to get back to playing.

“If that means a certain level of extra caution of how players live their lives then we’re prepared for that.”

The 2016 Brownlow medallist said players were just relieved the worst-case scenario of long-term stays in quarantine hubs has been avoided.

“This is clearly, clearly better than that,” Dangerfield said. “We’ll do our very best to make sure we’re prepared and ready to play; if that means it’s an imposition in terms of your daily living, that’s what it’s got to be. We realise how many people and jobs rely upon us resuming.”