No pressure on St Kilda players to travel to hubs for AFL restart

Clubs will not force players to travel interstate to hubs if they have genuine concerns according to St Kilda coach Brett Ratten.

St Kilda coach Brett Ratten says his players will be free to opt out of travelling to quarantine hubs if that is their preference. Picture: AAP

Football clubs will not force players to travel interstate to hubs if they have genuine concerns, says St Kilda coach Brett Ratten.

Although the AFL has effectively endorsed hubs as the way the 2020 season will be restarted, there are significant hurdles to overcome, with the welfare of players among the priorities.

There is disquiet from some players about the prospect of being based away from home for a significant period of time.

AFL Players Association vice-president Rory Sloane believes solutions need to be found for footballers with families, which could put at risk the participation of some of the game’s highest-profile stars. Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt has also expressed concerns, while AFLPA president Patrick Dangerfield was initially against the concept of using hubs but softened his stance to a degree last week.

Ratten said the possibility of players stepping out of football for a period for family or mental health reasons had been discussed at club level and would be understandable during what is an extremely demanding time for the community.

“Somebody could say, ‘No. It’s too hard for me, mentally, to leave my wife and kids, or not to see my kids’, and we would respect that,” Ratten told SEN. “At the end of the day this is a situation and a season like no other. The health and mental health of our people is first and foremost, so if that meant somebody said no, they won’t play, well we would respect that.”

The AFLPA fought to ensure funding related to mental welfare programs remained untouched in 2020 despite the significant cost-cutting exercises across the competition. The players’ union is satisfied it now has enough information to survey its members on a range of topics, including their wellbeing and the factors related to a return to playing football, which will assist the league in formulating its modelling on a restart to the season.

Their views will also be sought on potential reductions to list sizes, which could see up to 20 per cent of current footballers without a contract, based on a proposed reduction to 35 players. It is expected the union will challenge this exercise. With footballers having their wages cut further from Friday, the percentage increasing to 70 per cent until football resumes from the current 50 per cent, there is much for the union to consider.

The AFL continues to assess the logistics associated with setting up hubs around the country, with Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann on Monday adding his voice to those lobbying for a hub to be placed in southeast Queensland. Echoing his Gold Coast counterpart Mark Evans, Swann is adamant Queensland’s southeast is an obvious choice for a hub if that is the preferred model to start the season.

“Obviously there’s a lot of other states trying to lobby for that but … we think we’ve got accommodation, we’ve got the best facilities, we’ve got the best weather (and) we’ve got two great grounds that you can play footy on every night,” he said.

Melbourne is another logical option given 10 clubs are Victorian-based and there are several grounds capable of serving as training and playing venues, including the MCG, Marvel Stadium and Princes Park in Carlton. But Essendon great Tim Watson cautioned about Victoria’s weather, saying the grounds may become chopped up through overuse if the state suffers a miserable winter.

Swann, meanwhile, believes the AFL would cover the costs associated with a hub set-up including COVID-19 testing kits and other medical resources.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has stressed the league does not want to place any burden on the health system during the coronavirus crisis.