New Covid threat to AFLW

For the second year running the AFLW is at risk of being ended by COVID, with four clubs in lockdown or self-isolation.

Crows co-captain Chelsea Randall has described the two-week isolation as ‘not ideal’

For the second year running the AFLW is at risk of being ended by COVID, with four of the league’s 14 clubs in lockdown or self-isolation.

The WA lockdown and the introduction by South Australia of two weeks’ mandatory self-isolation for people returning to SA from the West means the Adelaide Crows, Greater Western Sydney and the two Perth-based clubs, Fremantle and West Coast, cannot play any of their scheduled matches this coming fortnight.

At least six games are affected and some of the biggest names in the sport now confined to their homes in WA and in SA, where the Crows and GWS returned to Adelaide from Perth on Sunday night as the lockdown took effect.

The AFL is desperate to avoid a repeat of last year, when the season was abandoned in March as the nation went into hard lockdown.

Talks were under way late into Monday between AFL House and the relevant state governments, with The Australian understanding no government is prepared to entertain any exemption for the players to ensure consistency with the rules affecting the rest of the community.

AFL head of women’s football Nicole Livingstone announced late on Monday that two of the seven games scheduled this weekend involving the four clubs in question would be postponed.

“While COVID-19 continues to impact the community, the health and welfare of our players and the community remains the priority and we remain committed to delivering a full season in a safe manner anchored in the advice of respective governments, public health officials and medical experts,” Livingstone said.

“We will continue to remain as adaptable as possible as the season progresses in a constantly changing environment and we will listen to and work closely with each stakeholder to ensure the best possible outcome for everyone in the game.”

The AFL is examining contingency plans including byes and log-jamming cancelled games into a mid-week schedule to keep the season on track, as happened last year with the men’s fixture due to state-based breakouts.

Ticket sales have already been suspended for this coming weekend’s games and The Australian can reveal that members of the AFL men’s clubs are also affected after travelling to WA for games this past weekend.

The Adelaide Crows have been the hardest hit with their new head of football Adam Kelly, ruck coach and AFLW senior coach Matthew Clarke and key forward and AFL assistant coach Tom Lynch all in lockdown for two weeks after attending the Crows-West Coast game in Perth last Saturday.

Crows midfield coach and former club captain Nathan Van Berlo is also in lockdown as the former West Australian travelled home to Perth to visit his family last week.

Crows star midfielder Erin Phillips, who co-hosts an Adelaide breakfast radio show, is among the players now in self-isolation and she posted a video of herself on Instagram broadcasting from her garage.

Crows AFLW co-captain Chelsea Randall said the two weeks in isolation was “not ideal” but that she and her teammates understood the ruling and would abide by it.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind 24 hours,” Randall said. “We came off the plane after managing to get back home to Adelaide to be told that we had to isolate for 14 days.

“But it’s not really about us, it’s about the health and wellbeing of the community. That’s what’s really important at the moment.”

SA Health deputy chief medical officer Dr Emily Kirkpatrick said on Monday around 5500 people in SA who had been in Perth from January 26 onwards were now required to lockdown and be tested for COVID on days one, five and 12 of their self-isolation.

The rules surrounding the lockdown vary between WA and SA with Fremantle and West Coast AFL and AFLW players allowed one hour’s exercise a day with one other person, but the two sides in SA prevented from exercising or having any contact with anyone outside their homes.