AFL 2021: Footy’s biggest COVID questions answered after Brisbane’s snap lockdown
The AFL season has again been thrown into chaos after the latest COVID outbreak. But the improving situation in Queensland has changed the landscape.
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Brisbane will spend the club’s nine-day break in Melbourne until Saturday week’s Western Bulldogs clash despite the improving COVID picture in Queensland.
Queensland recorded only one more linked COVID positive on Thursday and emerged from the snap lockdown in time for Easter.
It means the league’s fears Brisbane and Gold Coast might need to remain out of Queensland for some time have abated.
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AFL fixture boss Travis Auld told the Herald Sun on Thursday night the Suns now had permission to fly out of Adelaide on Saturday morning and host Carlton on the Gold Coast.
Lions chief executive Greg Swann told the Herald Sun the Lions were happy to remain in Melbourne rather than return home.
They made that commitment to the AFL early on to avoid uncertainty and are more than happy to fulfil that commitment.
“We are staying in Melbourne until the Bulldogs game,” Swann said of Saturday week’s clash against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat.
“We needed certainty so that’s what we are doing. We are going to stay and hopefully we can get home after that to play Essendon.”
The Suns had also feared they might have to swap their contest against Carlton in Round 4 to an away venue that might have been Marvel Stadium or even Adelaide Oval.
But despite a male stripper bringing COVID into the Gold Coast in its first positive case in 11 months, there is no strict lockdown in that city.
Auld said the AFL’s concern had been about flying Carlton in for that clash and then getting them out of Queensland given the tighter broader provisions.
He said the AFL would continue to monitor the case numbers across Australia but had told the Suns they would be able to fly home after their Good Friday clash.
The league’s hope is that case numbers continue to be contained so the only fallout from the current clusters is the single flipped game for Collingwood and Brisbane between the Gabba and Marvel Stadium.
Suns coach Stuart Dew said the club was ready for anything but hopeful of a good outcome given the success of Queensland health authorities.
“I think what we have learnt through last year and this year is that we are always prepared,” he said.
“And when we left the Gold Coast we were prepared for a multiple-week stay. If there is anything earlier than that then we make changes but we have our program sorted whether we stay or go.
“Queenslanders have done well with their tracing and adherence to the protocols but as we know a lot of it is about what each state has as entry processes, it’s more around what Victoria does with Queensland, as well as South Australia, WA and NSW.
“Hopefully we have a win and then look at what is ahead with the information that we have got. It used to be a week at a time in footy, it’s now a day at a time.
“We basically said pack for multiple weeks and I’m sure our boys can do some washing as well.”
HOW COVID CHAOS WILL IMPACT THE FIXTURE
The AFL season has been thrown into chaos after Queensland’s decision to send Brisbane into lockdown.
Where does that leave the fixture, the clubs and the game moving forward?
Jon Ralph answers the biggest COVID questions now facing the AFL.
HAS A COVID OUTBREAK THROWN THE FOOTBALL SEASON INTO CRISIS AGAIN?
That’s a very big yes, which is a kick in the guts for everyone rejoicing in the brilliant early start to the season who thought COVID was under control.
The fear is that this is only the start – that every time a case of COVID escapes quarantine the fixture will again be thrown into turmoil with schedule changes and teams escaping their states.
WHAT BORDERS ARE AFFECTED?
Greater Brisbane is now a red zone or hot spot, which means state borders are quickly slamming shut to anyone who has been in that area for a week or more. It is important to note Gold Coast is not in that zone right now.
South Australia’s border is shut to anyone who has been in that area in the last week, with Victoria declaring it a red zone under the travel permit system, which means anyone returning from Brisbane needs a permit and must quarantine for 14 days.
WHAT CLUBS ARE AFFECTED?
Clearly Brisbane is the most significantly affected. It will stay in Melbourne for the clash against Collingwood – now a Pies home game – at Marvel Stadium on Thursday and then almost certainly will remain there for the Round 4 clash against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat. Gold Coast plays Adelaide on Good Friday at the Adelaide Oval, but the AFL is yet to tell them to get out of the state before the border slams shut.
WHY IS BRISBANE PLAYING COLLINGWOOD IN MELBOURNE ON THURSDAY NIGHT?
Because the city is in lockdown, which means the Gabba wasn’t available. And if Collingwood had flown into Brisbane they wouldn’t have been able to fly back out without quarantining for 14 days. The game is now a Pies home game with tickets on sale on Tuesday, with the 43,000 seat capacity pretty much meaning everyone who wants to get in will secure a ticket.
HOW HAVE THE LIONS MANAGED THIS CHANGE?
The Lions have been staying at the Sofitel in the CBD, stocking up on supplies after their stay dragged on and training at vacant grounds. On Monday it was Port Melbourne’s VFL ground, on Tuesday it will be Punt Road. They have flown in four extra players – Rhys Mathieson, Darcy Gardiner, Connor Ballenden and Marcus Adams.
The Lions won’t be able to bring family members down, but hope they can fly back after that Round 4 game.
CAN THE SUNS PLAY THE CROWS IN ADELAIDE ON FRIDAY?
The SA Health Department has said that footballers aren’t essential workers, so won’t be able to get exemptions to fly into the state if they have been in Greater Brisbane in the past week. It means the Suns will have to assess whether any of their players have been in those areas recently, which would mean the border is closed to them. So it could be that they can’t field their best side. The Suns were working through those issues on Monday and were also checking to see if any of their coaches had been in Brisbane.
ARE WE LOOKING AT HUBS AGAIN?
Not yet. The hope is that if there is an occasional outbreak it will quickly be contact-traced and managed as the recent Victorian cluster was, which will allow teams to get out of affected states for a period and continue to play games.
The problem will be another outbreak in Victoria, because it will mean 10 teams will have to get out of the state for a period of time.
WHAT’S IT MEAN FOR THE FIXTURE?
The flow-on effect is the tricky thing for fixture boss Travis Auld. So if Collingwood had played in Brisbane in Round 3 they would have had only 14 days to return to Melbourne then fly to Perth for the Round 5 Friday night clash against West Coast. Given WA premier Mark McGowan’s hard-line stance, he might have prevented the game going ahead. So the league is having to plan not just days but weeks ahead. Working out what happens with COVID any day of the week is hard enough let alone guessing what might happen in two weeks time.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE‘S COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION IN VICTORIA AGAIN?
If 10 Victorian teams are out of the state, it would cause fixture chaos. The league would have an impossible task of keeping the fixture running every week without having to miss weeks or compress the fixture at some stage.
The beauty of last year’s fixture was as long as the AFL got games under way it made it up as it went along. The league has already slotted in games – but not days or times – for each round. It will likely be a miracle if that fixture gets played out as it was intended.
IS NORTH MELBOURNE UNDER ANY EXTRA RESTRICTIONS AFTER PLAYING ON THE GOLD COAST ON THE WEEKEND?
No, because Gold Coast is not in the red zone. It’s a fine margin given the two cities are only an hour apart, and two of the people who tested positive were also in Byron Bay.
But right now the AFL is only going off state government advice, so the Roos are fine to play on.
WHAT‘S GOING ON WITH AFLW?
Brisbane has gone home and has a home final on April 10-11. So they will sit tight for the moment and hope the lockdown only lasts three days.
The Queensland government will review the lockdown on Wednesday in the hope the cluster is contained. And the AFL will hope it can still play that home final in a fortnight.
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