Players may only seriously consider returning to play in different cities if they can bring their young families

Players may be forced to spend months away in another state under the AFL’s quarantine hub prosposal. But there is a significant hurdle for many footballers. Here’s how it could be accepted.

Hawthorn veteran Shaun Burgoyne with his wife and their four kids.

AFL players remain in the dark over any plans to re-ignite the season in multi-city quarantine hubs.

The league has confirmed it is investigating the possibility of stationing groups of teams in cities such as Hobart, Adelaide and Perth for several weeks or months to re-ignite the season in parts of the country where the Coronavirus cases are lower than Melbourne and Sydney.

But any proposal could hinge on whether players could also bring their families to stay with them.

The prospect of leaving families behind including multiple young children with partners who are also working is seen as a significant hurdle.

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Hawthorn veteran Shaun Burgoyne with his wife and their four kids.

There is significant resistance to the concept but could be developed as a worst-case scenario if the AFL cannot play games on the eastern coast.

In any case, the AFL Players’ Association has not received details on any quarantine hub plan and are yet to begin any talks on the matter with league chiefs.

While club sources are hopeful the season will resume in July or August, the league is adamant it will be guided by the government and expert medical advice on a resumption date.

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Strict return-to-play provisions would require players be kept away from the general public and effectively restricted to move only from their homes, to the clubs and to the venues when football resumes.

The quarantine hub concept is believed to be one of many ideas the league is considering.

But Hawthorn chief executive Justin Reeves said he was uncertain the proposal was adequate.

“I can’t get my head around how that would possibly work,” Reeves said.

“I can’t imagine this happening while the rest of the community are in lockdown or the like.”

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Originally published as Players may only seriously consider returning to play in different cities if they can bring their young families