Recent breaches of AFL’s COVID guidelines the exception rather than rule
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has branded Dan Houston and Peter Ladhams as selfish after a breach of COVID-19 guidelines.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan is adamant the league’s coronavirus protocols have proved a success despite regular breaches throughout the season.
McLachlan branded the recent behaviour of Swan Elijah Taylor and Port Adelaide pair Dan Houston and Peter Ladhams as completely unacceptable.
Taylor has been banned for the remainder of the season for a tryst with his girlfriend at Sydney’s hub in Perth last week.
Ladhams received a three-match ban and Houston will miss two games for having a party after the Power’s defeat of the Bulldogs in round 10 in Adelaide earlier this month.
But McLachlan said while there have been transgressions, most players and others in the AFL hubs across the country had proven themselves model citizens.
“It is disappointing, but we have nearly 1500 people in these hubs and the vast majority are abiding (by the rules) and we are going well so far,” he said.
“I am not complacent about it. It is disappointing when it happens but the vast majority are doing the right thing and getting the game away.”
The AFL will decide on where the finals, including the decider, will be held next week and McLachlan says the competition must keep abiding by the rules.
“There is always risk. The protocols are holding up but there is risk everywhere. I have said if not privately, publicly, this is a virus that doesn’t respect (anything),” he told Melbourne radio.
“You need to be disciplined. Any time you relax and open the door a little bit, it walks through. We can’t be complacent. We see that with where we are in Victoria, or different moments nationally. You have just got to be tight on this because there is risk all the time.”
The Power are furious with Houston and Ladhams for behaviour that has jeopardised their push for a top-placed finish and also earned the wrath of the league.
Both the Swans and Port Adelaide were issued with $50,000 fines — half of which is suspended — that will come from their soft caps next year.
This will have an impact on the salaries coaches or other assistants can be paid, which is part of the reason Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley described the behaviour as selfish.
“(I’m) incredibly disappointed, frustrated and angry, because we all understand the obligation we have, and they know it,” he said. “This is not just our issue. It’s an AFL issue. It’s a disappointing outcome when we all understand the rules. I am really clear.
“This is not an easy mistake to make when you know all the information. It is a selfish mistake. The team will be OK. The team is fine. It’s a good team and ready to go, but the outcome hurts the industry and the football club.”
Taylor apologised to his teammates earlier this week. Ladhams and Houston have since done the same, though former captain Travis Boak was scathing of their behaviour. “Obviously we know the rules. There is a lot at stake (in) what is in place for us at the moment,” he told SEN.
“We had done a lot of great work as a footy club to put ourselves on top of the ladder and for those guys to go beyond those rules is really disappointing.
“It has put us in a tough position because those guys have been crucial to our side as well but also, (they have) put themselves at risk and it was a really disappointing situation that happened,” Boak said.
“We have addressed that as a playing group and we have to move on as a whole quickly to the Hawthorn game now.”
The Power hosts Hawthorn, which has won the past two outings between the clubs in matches played in Launceston, on Saturday in Adelaide.
Port Adelaide holds top spot on percentage from Brisbane, but only one win separates the Power from fifth-placed St Kilda.
Richmond, which is sitting sixth in its premiership defence, is also within range of securing a top-four finish on 30 points, six in arrears of the Power and Lions.
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Port Adelaide will need to move on quickly according to a frustrated Travis Boak #AFL pic.twitter.com/Ng0w6gcOkA
— SEN 1116 (@1116sen) August 21, 2020
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