WESTERN BULLDOGS TACKLE ANOTHER HURDLE
THE Western Bulldogs have to re-enter Western Australian quarantine for nearly a week when they return to Perth, despite it being 13 days since Luke Beveridge’s side was near any hotspot.
But Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains says there would be 16 other teams that would happily swap places with his club despite the harsh restrictions they have had to cop from multiple state authorities as they start their preparations for the grand final.
The Bulldogs have had to face the hardest road ever travelled to a grand final. They have had to go from Victoria, to Launceston, to Brisbane, to Perth, to Adelaide and now back to Perth following a 71point demolition job of Port Adelaide on Saturday night.
Bains said the Bulldogs would have to re-enter quarantine when they arrive in Perth on Sunday.
“Unfortunately we still have to do another week of quarantine when we go back to Perth because for WA health purposes when we went to Queensland and played that final (the semi-final against Brisbane) it reset our quarantine,” he said.
“So they didn’t count any of our time in Tasmania, unfortunately. We will do six days and come out next Sunday morning.”
It comes after the Bulldogs were unable to leave their rooms on Friday after touching down in Adelaide, despite testing negative to Covid 14 times in 25 days. It might seem over the top but Bains said it had helped build the resilience among the Dogs group.
“Credit to the group and the leadership of Chris Grant and Luke Beveridge they have taken a really positive stance around that and characterised it as just another hurdle we will have to overcome if we are to win the premiership,” he said.
“Ultimately I think if you ask anyone (in the AFL) if they would rather be doing what we are right now and facing that adversity and playing off in a grand final or at home and not it is a pretty simple equation.”
While Melbourne is able to now mix it with the community and play golf at their base at the Joondalup Resort, the Dogs will head straight into the Tradewinds hotel in Fremantle – where Geelong had been staying.
The Demons’ 57-year premiership drought will mean the footy romantics will have them as their darlings for the September 25 showpiece.
Bains said the Dogs would just focus on creating history of their own.
“Yeah, well they have had a lengthy drought – I wasn’t here in 2016 but being in the industry and knowing how amazing that was for Bulldogs people I know there will be similar sentiment for them (the Demons),” he said.
“But that’s fine, we will prepare for the game oblivious to all that stuff.
“For us as a club it is only the fourth time since we entered the VFL we have played in a grand final so we are intent on building on that history.”