North Melbourne still a chance to play AFL games at Blundstone Arena this season

With both Hawthorn and the Kangaroos pushing to play some of their four games in Launceston and Hobart this coronavirus-affected season, here’s two things standing in the way.

North Melbourne v Melbourne action at Blundstone Arena. Pictured: North Melbourne's Ben Brown. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

NORTH Melbourne would be welcomed back at Blundstone Arena with open arms this year for AFL games but ground staff need up to six weeks’ notice to prepare the venue and surface.

With both Hawthorn and the Kangaroos pushing to play some of their four games each in Launceston and Hobart respectively this coronavirus-affected season, Cricket Tasmania boss Dominic Baker said the ground could be made available with a proper preparation and depending on border restrictions.

READ MORE:

• Hawthorn boss Jeff Kennett can’t wait to bring the team to Tasmania this season
• Tasmania’s AFL Draft hopes must get themselves noticed in TSL
• Tasmanian AFL players Lachie Weller and Hugh Greenwood shine bright in Suns win

Kangaroos coach Rhyce Shaw speaks to his players at the break during the round 23 AFL match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Melbourne Demons at Blundstone Arena. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The main stumbling block is the removal of the electronic cricket sight screens and their heavy rail mountings by an accredited interstate firm, and the installation of the AFL-grade goalposts, which live at Blundstone.

“The situation for us is until we can bring in a registered work crew to dismantle the sight screens there can’t be any football on the ground,” Baker said.

“It is all dependent on the borders being loosened up.

“The reason we can’t have the sight screens dismantled by anyone else is because that would void the warranty and insurance on them.

“There is only one crew that can do it, otherwise it would have been done by now.

“We are waiting to get that crew into the state to get them out.”

Should Hawthorn and North Melbourne get their wish, Blundstone could be open for business.

“It will also take time to get the ground ready,” Baker said.

“We obviously haven’t got the ground ready because there is no point until we know.

“It’s not just a matter of taking the sight screens down and then you can play football.

“There’s ground repairs that has to happen, because we couldn’t have a player potentially putting their foot into unsteady ground and doing a knee because we’d be in strife for not providing a safe workplace for them.

“There are four to six weeks’ worth of ground repair that has to happen as well, so we’d need to know asap.

“We are really at the whim of the AFL.”

The AFL roster is yet to be released in full.