Packed AFL crowds in WA and SA to cover over Victoria’s woes

The return of big crowds at games in Adelaide and Perth next month is a huge incentive for the AFL to embrace a western hub in the next phase of the fixture.

Perth’s Optus Stadium could be filled for the WA Derby on July 18

The return of big crowds at games in Adelaide and Perth next month is a huge incentive for the AFL to embrace a western hub in the next phase of the fixture.

With a major crisis averted when all but one Essendon player was cleared to resume training and playing from Wednesday after Conor McKenna’s COVID-19 scare, WA and SA provide the league with hope crowds can return following a recent surge of coronavirus cases in Melbourne.

Capacity crowds of 60,000 could be back in Western Australia from July 18, potentially the date for the local derby between Fremantle and the Eagles.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said up to 27,000 fans would be able to attend matches played at Adelaide Oval from next week.

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Fears the unbeaten Essendon would field a decimated team over the next fortnight were allayed with only James Stewart joining the COVID-19 positive McKenna in isolation for a fortnight.

McKenna’s latest test on Tuesday has also revealed he is now clear of the virus, suggesting he was in the final stages of infection over the weekend.

With the Essendon health outcome far better than feared, other dominoes began falling as the league fine-tuned plans for the next phase of the fixture.

A recent surge of coronavirus cases in Melbourne has doused hopes of fans returning to matches in the near future. Clubs had hoped up to 10,000 supporters would be allowed into the three Victorian grounds by late July.

WA Premier Mark McGowan provided a boost to the travelling clubs when he declared that once their stint in Queensland was over, players could quarantine at home rather than in hotels.

This had been a stumbling point but it now opens the prospect West Coast and Fremantle will play an additional match in Queensland before returning.

They would then be allowed to play the Derby against each other while quarantining. McGowan said that should clubs from Victoria be sent to a hub in Perth, they could play each other while in quarantine and then face the WA clubs once through the period.

“We are continuing to work with the AFL on that arrangement. If they were to hub here, they would be subject to quarantine in a hotel,” he said.

“They may well be able to (play each other) within the hub arrangement in which they are, in effect, in a bubble.”

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner has written a letter to the AFL, urging them to send clubs to a Darwin hub.

States are eyeing Victoria with suspicion due to an increase in virus cases that may yet see some Melbourne suburbs locked down.

The scare McKenna sent through the competition over the weekend has seen clubs issue urgent reminders to players about the need for good hygiene.

Only Stewart, who had the misfortune of partnering McKenna in a wrestling drill last Friday.

The remainder of the Essendon players and football department officials return to training on Wednesday to prepare for Saturday night’s clash against Carlton.

Department of Human Services and Health officials reviewed training footage from Essendon, as well as data including the training regimes of players and a floorplan of the club’s base “The Hangar” before clearing all players bar Stewart.

An investigation into how McKenna, 24, contracted coronavirus is continuing. He is understood to have attended five home openings when seeking a new rental property late last week.

But Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said it was not “clear cut” as to whether McKenna had breached the AFL’s COVID-19 guidelines.

The Bombers are seeking permission to deliver training equipment to the isolated players.

Securing a date to play the suspended clash between Essendon and Melbourne later in the season is one issue the AFL’s fixturing department is working through.

Melbourne skipper Max Gawn said the Demons will be prepared to play the match at the “drop of a hat” and does not view the suspension as a disadvantage.