Queensland may offer ray of sunshine to AFL

QUEENSLAND could supply a super hub across three cities to help save the AFL season.

As Victoria lurches deeper into a coronavirus crisis, there is growing support for a plan to house Melbourne clubs in Queensland, with games to be played at the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Cairns.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has thrown out the welcome mat, while Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles is also supportive of finding a solution to the logistic nightmare of navigating rigid COVID-19 protocols.

With the NRL’s Melbourne Storm already bunkered down on the Sunshine Coast, moves are also being made to relocate the AFL’s 10 Victorian teams to the warmer conditions.

While non-Victorian AFL teams are free to travel around the country, a 14-day quarantine period has loomed as a major impediment towards any move to relocate Melbourne sides.

However, it is understood clever scheduling and the use of existing AFL COVID-19 protocols could ensure Victorian teams satisfy quarantine regulations without impacting the rest of the season.

Teams that played Sydney, Perth or Adelaide-based teams back-to-back would be free to enter Queensland.

AFL Cairns president Gary Young said on Thursday it had not had discussions with AFL headquarters for some time.

“We spoke to the AFL months ago about the possibility of having a hub in Cairns, which was before the season restarted,” Young said.

“Since then, we have not spoken to them about bringing games to Cairns and with the current border restrictions with Victoria, I doubt big numbers of games are coming to Queensland.”