Isolated Dons wait for tests to gauge viral damage

Essendon is facing the prospect of fielding a drastically weakened side over the next fortnight.

Neville Jetta and Charlie Spargo wrestle during a Melbourne Demons intra club match that was held at the MCG after the game against Essendon was postponed Picture: AAP

Essendon are facing the prospect of fielding a drastically weakened side over the next fortnight as the competition reels from the fallout of Conor McKenna’s positive test for COVID-19.

With every Bomber and the club’s football department staff in isolation pending further tests this week, the AFL declared Essendon would play on Saturday night against Carlton as long as 22 players and four emergencies were available.

Eight players, including quality defenders Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker and Adam Saad, are considered most at risk of contracting the viral illness.

They participated in an indoor weights session with McKenna when he was asymptomatic on Friday, though there is also concern for the entire team who trained alongside him that day.

Whether those players, or any other Bomber, will be able to play over the next fortnight depends on the number of players forced into quarantine. It will be days before health authorities have any certainty as to whether the virus has spread through the club.

Essendon had been due to play Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday but that fixture has been postponed to a date still to be set.

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The AFL’s fixture department was set to announce the schedule for rounds six and seven on Monday but that has been delayed.

The league is now investigating playing more games in Darwin, Canberra and Tasmania, as well as using a hub in Perth as concerns grow about the health outlook in Victoria. The season might now extend into November.

But the league believes it has measures in place to minimise the risk of the virus infecting a whole team and is confident the season is not under threat.

Footballers are tested twice a week for COVID-19, which includes the day before a full-contact training session and matches. More than 13,000 tests have been completed by the AFL.

On other days players train in small groups.

When reigning premiers Richmond returned to training in May, coach Damien Hardwick said the Tigers would split their groups by position. He was confident his stars would follow the AFL’s COVID-19 guidelines and protect themselves from infection.

Other clubs have adopted a similar position, but Essendon’s predicament has caused alarm throughout the competition.

The unbeaten Bombers are at risk of fielding a weakened side, particularly in defence, against Carlton and Collingwood.

Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said much would depend on whether players who trained with McKenna were considered to be in close contact as dictated by health guidelines.

“Even when players are doing gym sessions, there’s particular protocols that players follow to ensure they are not deemed as close contact,” he told Triple M.

“That is cleaning the equipment after they have used it, all those sorts of things.”

AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon defined close contact as applying to “everyone”.

“It talks about being in a face-to-face meeting in 15 minutes or being (in an) indoor period for at least two hours,” he said.

The AFL position on Essendon’s plight is that it is a similar situation to a group of players contracting gastro or the flu. In those instances, matches have always proceeded.

“I don’t want to speculate. We will be led by the league,” Campbell said.

Health authorities are viewing footage of training sessions to identify who McKenna had the most contact with. An investigation will occur as to whether the 24-year-old has breached the AFL’s COVID-19 guidelines after it was reported he attended a house inspection late last week.

The season’s legitimacy is under question, according to ex-Fremantle and St Kilda coach Ross Lyon, who said: “The integrity of the competition is a big challenge at the minute.”

Melbourne, who held an intraclub match on the MCG in place of the clash against the Bombers, are also penalised at no fault of their own.

At some stage later this season, both clubs will be forced to squeeze in an additional match to catch up on the rest of the competition.