A-League: Rapid-fire games to beat virus

A-League players will be on standby for the rest of the season to play games with minimal notice as efforts get under way to finish the competition before the coronavirus infects key personnel.

Wellington players Alex Rufer, left, and Cameron Devlin prepare to fly to Sydney

A-League players will be on standby for the rest of the season to play games with minimal notice, as efforts get under way to finish the competition before the coronavirus infects key personnel.

Five games will be played behind closed doors between Friday and Monday, despite Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory having been placed in isolation, and coaches have been told to expect games to flow every three to four days as a rolling draw unfolds from then on.

Fixtures from the final rounds have been brought forward, with Newcastle playing Brisbane on the Gold Coast on Friday night before racing back to host Melbourne City on Monday.

City themselves will have played the Mariners on Friday, while the Sydney derby remains on Saturday night. The Sky Blues are then likely to play again on Tuesday or Wednesday, needing eight points more to be certain of winning the Premier’s Plate. All games will be behind closed doors, with only “essential personnel” allowed into stadiums.

As Phoenix arrived in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon to isolate themselves at a sporting facility, where they can train, eat and sleep away from the public until April 1, hours of negotiations over moving games brought some clarity to how the condensed competition will look.

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Though a draft schedule for the rest of the season has been pencilled in, league and club officials have agreed to confirm it almost on a daily basis, particularly if and when issues such as finishing in the top six begin to get resolved.

“We are looking to play the remaining 31 matches of the regular season in a condensed period by bringing forward matches from later rounds,” said Head of the A-League Greg O’Rourke.

“We will continue to release the remaining fixtures on a rolling basis as we acknowledge the evolving COVID-19 protocols.

“We understand that these are difficult times for everyone and we will always put the health, welfare and safety of our players, coaches, match officials, volunteers, administrators and fans at the centre of our decision-making process.”

In a sign of the constantly changing nature of the outbreak’s effect on the game, Wellington will be allowed to isolate as a group, with the aim being for them to resume competitive matches the minute their isolation period ends.

With Victory also in isolation, the other nine teams will start playing games with the shortest possible interval between them over the next month, in the hope of being able to finish the season before an A-League player tests positive for COVID-19.

Across the league players have been given strict protocols to follow, which amount to voluntary isolation away from their teammates and immediate family.

Players have been told to arrive at training grounds at certain times and try to avoid any interaction with the public, including shopping unless absolutely necessary.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH