WHERE ELSE BUT QUEENSLAND?
SA, WA clubs to shift base
PORT Adelaide would prefer relocating to Queensland for the season restart but club president David Koch claims they will be severely disadvantaged no matter where they set up their quarantine hub.
The AFL’s plan to announce the competition’s reboot yesterday was thrown into chaos when South Australian health officials refused to grant training and travel exemptions for the state’s two teams.
It means Adelaide and Port will have to join West Coast and Fremantle in temporarily moving into quarantine hubs in order for the AFL’s 17round regular season to resume.
“We’re disappointed with the decision but we have always said we take the advice of medical experts,” Koch said.
“It will put us at a severe disadvantage to the big Melbourne clubs and other interstate clubs … but that will make victory even sweeter to get over those hurdles.
“Our preference is Queensland.” In a letter delivered to AFL boss Gillon McLachlan late on Wednesday, South Australia’s COVID-19 transition committee knocked back an AFL request for players to bypass a 14-day quarantine period when flying in and out of the state.
“We really agonised over this, this is not something that we do lightly because I absolutely understand how people enjoy football,” SA chief health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier. “My job is to protect the health of South Australians. I’m really sorry to be disappointing the fans.”
SA’s restrictions allow for non-contact training in groups of 10 until at least June 8 – just three days before the proposed season restart of June 11.
With AFL players restricted to training in pairs due to varying rules across the states, the two SA clubs will have to relocate to allow all 18 clubs to progress to full training.
Victorian clubs have a state government exemption while NSW and Queensland teams are certain to receive allowances in line with those granted to their NRL counterparts.
West Coast and Fremantle will be allowed full contact AFL training in Western Australia before relocating to a Queensland-based quarantine hub.
Both clubs nominated the Gold Coast as their preferred hub location.
WA Premier Mark McGowan yesterday confirmed the two clubs would be granted access to club facilities from May 18, with full training permitted seven days later.
But McGowan is not backing down on a refusal to grant exemptions for the clubs to fly in and out of the state for games, forcing the teams to temporarily shift their operations in order for the AFL season to resume.
A move to Queensland would allow the WA clubs to negate a potential home advantage that Victorian clubs would have if they moved to Melbourne.