’Suck it up’ on hubs, says Fagan

BRISBANE Lions coach Chris Fagan says players need to “suck it up” and do what’s right for the game as the

AFL attempts to reboot the premiership season in quarantine hubs.

And he believes the overwhelming majority of players will do just that.

Fagan (pictured) invoked the plight of former Melbourne coach Neale Daniher as some players have struggled to come to terms with the league’s proposed hub plan.

The worst-case scenario to restart and complete the premiership season that was presented to players this week would see teams isolated for a total of 20 weeks.

That prospect has led some, such as Adelaide’s Rory Sloane and North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein, to express concerns about families being excluded.

Fagan says a recent text from Daniher, who is fighting a high-profile battle with motor neurone disease, helped him approach the AFL’s plan to restart the season with renewed perspective.

“It made me think, ‘How would Neale handle this?’ Fagan said. “When you think about (his battle) and then you think about what we’re faced with … it’s relatively minor, it’s short term.

“We’re not going to jail, we’re not going to die, we’re not going to war, it will end, we will get back to normal. I figure right now what we need to do is actually suck it up and do what’s best for the game.”

As the league seeks to emerge from the COVID-19 shutdown, there is growing confidence that authorities will soon give the green light to restart the season as early as June. his

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