AFLPA to ask its full player body of 840 players on the merits of playing in quarantine hubs
While some players have expressed an openness to playing in quarantined hubs, the AFLPA wants to hear from its entire player body on their thoughts before giving concrete feedback to the AFL
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The AFLPA will canvass its full player body of 840 members on the merits of playing in quarantine hubs next week after a briefing with 50 club delegates and captains.
It is increasingly likely that the AFL season will restart in quarantine hubs of up to six clubs who could play on turnarounds as short as four days to get the season back on track.
The Herald Sun understands the most optimistic timeline for a return to footy could see players back training by the start of June, with a return to footy around June 21.
The player union has been briefed by the AFL on those quarantine hubs, with contingency plans being formulated for hubs in every state and territory before several are eventually chosen.
As well as the question on quarantine hubs the players will also be canvassed on list sizes going forward, CBA issues and the support needed for players while in isolation.
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The AFL is only willing to play under the rules of state and federal governments, which means a June or July return to footy would need to be under the current 14-day quarantines across state borders.
The WA government said it was perfectly placed to host an AFL hub given extremely low coronavirus positives but said it would not exempt clubs from a 14-day coronavirus quarantine period.
The union briefed AFL captains and player delegates on the new $500,000 hardship fund, quarantine hubs and a change to the last two seasons of the current collective bargaining agreement.
The player union told the players that it is prepared to negotiate the CBA for 2021-2022 but only when it knows the full scope of the financial hit from the coronavirus.
And while players are open to playing in quarantined hubs, the player union wants to canvass all its players on their support before giving concrete feedback to the AFL.
It means the union will await further details of the quarantined hubs later this week before putting them in a survey to the players.
Issues for players to consider include how long they would be in those quarantine zones and even whether families might be allowed to travel with them.
AFLPA president Patrick Dangerfield said today he was now keen to play in hubs because there is no prospect of clubs flying back and forth across the country under the current limitations.
Young Carlton Carlton Sam Walsh also threw his weight behind playing in quarantine hubs given his desperation to return to playing footy in some form.
The AFL is adamant it is not prepared to play around or seek exemptions to the state regulations which force 14-day quarantine periods.
Those border crossing quarantine periods could be lifted by governments at some stage, but the current planning revolves around clubs grouped together to play multiple games.
With no fans at those stadiums the clubs could play as quickly as every four days, with a club conceivably able to play five games in a hub in just over three weeks.
Then the league could ease some restrictions or play a different grouping of teams in another hub scenario to get through another batch of games.
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