Josh Dunkley joins AFL stars on isolation after coffee at Covid exposure site
Western Bulldogs premiership midfielder Josh Dunkley will miss Saturday night’s top-of-the-table clash against Melbourne at the MCG after being brought down by an innocent cafe visit.
Western Bulldogs premiership midfielder Josh Dunkley will miss Saturday night’s top-of-the-table clash against Melbourne at the MCG after being brought down by an innocent cafe visit.
As the AFL confirmed an extraordinary fixture reshuffle as its latest gambit to outpace the coronavirus, Dunkley and players from Sydney, the Giants, Essendon and the Kangaroos are in quarantine at a crucial time in the season.
Dunkley is the latest to be forced into isolation for a fortnight after a cafe he attended was listed as a Tier 1 exposure site, which robs the classy Bulldogs player of a vital period to build match fitness leading into the finals.
The 24-year-old resumed from a shoulder injury against the Gold Coast on Saturday when gathering 21 disposals, a performance which came four days after the costly coffee at his favoured local in Kew.
Dunkley had checked in at Frank & Harri last Wednesday. At 4.10pm on Saturday the venue was added to Victoria’s long list of exposure sites. At 4.35pm on Saturday, Dunkley lined up against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
It wasn’t until Sunday that Victoria’s health department delivered Dunkley the deflating news he must quarantine. Dunkley and his teammates have tested negative in subsequent tests but the Bulldogs star will now isolate.
While the Western Bulldogs are blessed with midfield depth, his absence could prove critical in a match, which has been brought forward a week, that has implications for the top four and also the minor premiership.
Dunkley produces his best football against Melbourne according to AFL Players Ratings, with his average of 121 points per game 10 higher than his next best efforts against Carlton.
After the win over the Gold Coast, Dunkley said he felt his fitness waning in the latter stages of the match after being able to train fully for a fortnight leading into the match.
“I did a lot of rehab work. I thought my fitness would be all right but, to be honest, I was pretty knackered in the last quarter,” he told the club’s website.
The challenge for Dunkley and others caught up in Covid-19 caused isolation is to maintain their physical fitness to ensure they are able to cope with the rigours of playing when they return.
With just over a month left in the regular season, the absence of players the calibre of Dunkley, Giant Toby Greene and Swan Callum Mills has the potential to torpedo September hopes.
Greene, for example, is the Giants’ leading goalkicker and a player capable of winning matches off his own boot. His absence is critical for a club on the fringe of the eight.
It was confirmed the five players withdrawn from the clash between Sydney and the Giants on the Gold Coast on Sunday night will be in quarantine until Tuesday next week.
They were among the players and officials who attended a rugby union Test between the Wallabies and France at AAMI Stadium in Melbourne last Tuesday.
North Melbourne’s Will Walker is also in quarantine on the Gold Coast, so too injured Essendon player Andy McGrath.
His Bombers teammates have headed further north to the Sunshine Coast for the next fortnight to prepare for matches against the Giants and Swans.
St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall also attended the rugby union Test but, under Victorian rules that differ to Queensland regulations in terms of the recognition of different tiers of exposure, was allowed to travel to Perth.
The Saints, though, are in quarantine in Joondalup ahead of Saturday’s clash with West Coast, which is now an afternoon match after initially being scheduled at night.
To minimise the disruption caused by border restrictions, the AFL has also shifted round 20 matches between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and Adelaide and Hawthorn to next Saturday.
Clashes between the Suns and Melbourne, Bulldogs and Adelaide and Hawthorn and Brisbane, which were to be played this weekend, have been delayed a week as a result of the changes.
The AFL has also tinkered with the starting time of other matches to be played this weekend.
Collingwood’s clash with Port Adelaide on Friday will start at 6.40pm local time to allow the Magpies to travel to and from South Australia on the same day.
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Updates have been made to the fixture for round 19 of the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.https://t.co/94iRkRuE4s
— AFL (@AFL) July 19, 2021
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