Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale issues stark Covid warning
Victorian clubs now have no hope of returning home in the latter stages of the AFL season after a state of disaster was declared.
Prominent AFL officials have issued a final warning to clubs about the dire threat to the game if there continue to be breaches of COVID guidelines as Victoria declared a state of disaster.
Richmond president Brendon Gale said following the AFL and state government guidelines that have allowed the season to progress was “not negotiable” after the Tigers were among five clubs issued hefty sanctions for recent breaches.
In a clear indication the AFL’s advice is not getting through, leaders such as Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley and Richmond captain Trent Cotchin are among those implicated in breaches.
Buckley and Magpies assistant coach Brenton Sanderson will split the $25,000 sanction the club was issued after the pair played tennis with Australian Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik in Perth on Friday.
The pair were forced to isolate from the rest of the Collingwood squad for 24 hours while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test.
Buckley returned to the coaches box for the loss to Fremantle on Sunday, with Collingwood to fly to Queensland on Monday.
He said after the game he did not have a leg to stand on for breaching the biosecurity rules.
“You don’t need the extra attention especially when it’s away from your primary endeavour which is to be as good as a football team as we can be,” Buckley said.
“We let the club down in that regard by a miscommunication and not being diligent enough with our understanding of what we could and couldn’t do.
“As soon as we came back into the team environment, we had a few conversations and realised we needed to address it.
“It was crystal clear where you look back at it, there’s been four to five iterations of what is allowed in hubs and what we’re in at the moment is a hotel and not technically a hub … clearly WA is not a COVID risk but the AFL protocols are about keeping it as consistent as possible for all clubs.
“Protocols have changed and evolved and there’s been almost weekly updates … I’m not making an excuse but that’s the reality clubs are facing and there’s probably some of the slip ups that may have stemmed from that but I need to be better and we need to be better.”
Magpies president Eddie McGuire had called for those breaching AFL guidelines to be sent home on Friday, but he is yet to offer comment on the latest breach involving Collingwood’s coaching staff.
Gale revealed Cotchin would pay the $20,000 fine issued for a breach triggered when his wife Brooke Cotchin attended a day spa outside the Tigers’ hub on the Gold Coast.
“The inadvertent breach this week was disappointing and Trent immediately offered to pay the fine,” Gale said.
“It’s a reminder of the fragility of the AFL competition and the entire community.”
Cotchin was not the only one to be punished for the incident.
The Herald Sun reported on Sunday night that AFL Media has stood down journalist Mitch Cleary indefinitely for reporting on social media that Brooke Cotchin was responsible for the Richmond breach.
Cotchin posted on social media about her visit to the day spa, but subsequently deleted the image.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said it “seemed like a no-brainer that you should stay within the parameters” given the potential risk to the AFL season.
“It is a significant financial warning that has been shot over the bow,” Beveridge said.
“From the game’s perspective and the financial and intangible benefits that we get out of the game, there’s too much at risk.
“We understand that and it wasn’t a great surprise (that the penalties were heavy). It just shows that the AFL are going to come down extremely hard on anything.”
The AFL has already been pushed out of Victoria and, temporarily at this stage, NSW but passed a milestone on Sunday night. An abridged season has now cleared the halfway mark and will be more than two thirds complete by the time the 20-day stretch of games ends on August 17.
But the decision by Victorian Premier Dan Andrews to move Melbourne to Stage 4 restrictions scuttles any faint hopes of the state’s AFL clubs returning in the latter stages of the season.
It also adds doubt to Victoria’s hopes of hosting finals, including the decider, given the state of disaster will run through until mid-September in a drastic step aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.
Andrews announced another seven deaths and 671 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday when implementing drastic measures, including a curfew and a restriction of movement to 5km.
The Gabba in Brisbane and Optus Stadium are favoured to host the decider should the AFL be forced to move the grand final from the MCG.
Brisbane great Jonathan Brown said on Fox Footy on Sunday that Queensland “had saved the competition this year so I think it does deserve the grand final”.
AFL fixture boss Travis Auld is yet to unveil the remainder of the rounds.
Darwin will host at least one match, with the Dreamtime clash between Richmond and Essendon to be held there.
The league will also play at least three matches in Cairns and remains hopeful North Melbourne and Hawthorn will be able to fulfil their duties in Tasmania.
Auld told The Australian recently the competition was diligently monitoring the health status of states in regards to coronavirus.
“Yes, there is the broader interest in how we go about combating this,” he said.
“But my role is very much dependent on what the border restrictions are like and how that might change and how do we scenario plan around that, the need to move and adjust really quickly and to be ahead of what might occur behind that is really important.
“I may not be as fanatical as Gil (McLachlan) about trying to read every part of it, but I have tried to keep a really close eye on what is happening around the country and what might be the case four to six weeks ahead and how we might position ourselves for whatever might happen.”
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Maybe I can make a more positive contribution through this podcast released earlier this week. Hope we are all holding up well 🙠https://t.co/r4VNCkrIak
— Nathan Buckley (@ncb_cfc) August 1, 2020
We’re committed to doing all we can to ahere to the @AFL COVID protocols. It’s not negotiable! The inadvertent breach this week was disappointing (and Trent immediately offered to pay the fine). It’s a reminder of the fragility of the @AFL competition, and the entire community. https://t.co/vq21t0sybB
— Brendon Gale (@brendongale25) August 2, 2020
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