DAY BY DAY
WHAT COVID DRAMA? HIGH-FLYING SUNS ARE JUST TAKING THINGS...
SUNS forward Sam Day has declared the playing group isn’t daunted by the prospect of a lengthy road trip after the Queensland government announced strict new travel restrictions on Monday.
The Suns have taken full advantage of their hub hosting duties to date, winning three straight AFL games against intruders West Coast, Adelaide and Fremantle to rise to second on the ladder.
But their rich run at home might not last much longer with Queensland-based teams now required to quarantine for 14 days upon return to the Sunshine State, meaning the Suns may face weeks away from home following their clash against Geelong on Saturday.
Day, who kicked one goal in the Suns’ victory over Fremantle on Saturday, believes his side could be tailor-made for hub life following their 10-week stint away from home in 2018 while the Coast hosted the Commonwealth Games.
“We are pretty tight as a group so
I don’t feel like it would affect the group’s morale or how we are feeling about each other, it would just strengthen those bonds being in a tight-knit community like the other teams are up here,” Day, 27, said.
“The teams that can adapt the quickest and take any challenge head-on will play the best footy on the weekend because everyone has a tough job at the moment.
“We did have 10 weeks or so where we were playing away most weekends during the Commonwealth Games and had 10 or so days in Perth which was something we are facing at the moment depending on how the fixture goes.
“I feel like the group we have at the moment is a great group of guys who are enjoying each other’s company and if we can keep winning on the weekends it just makes things a little easier.”
Spots in the Suns starting 22 remain a sought-after commodity after a combined scratch match with Fremantle and Port Adelaide on Saturday morning.
Suns football operations boss
Jon Haines said Josh Corbett, Zac Smith, Izak Rankine, Peter Wright, Sam Flanders and Jez McLennan all performed strongly as the club’s usually lengthy injury list shrinks to just three players.
“We’ve got great confidence that we’ve got over 30 players that can play AFL football and are really pushing hard for selection,” he said.
“We’ve got great confidence in a number of players that if there was an opportunity in the AFL team we could bring those players in.”
THE Gold Coast Suns look set for a lengthy road trip following their clash against Geelong on Saturday.
After playing their first four games of the season at Metricon Stadium, the ever evolving COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up its latest set of hurdles.
Following a spike of fresh cases in Victoria, Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young wrote to major sporting codes on Monday outlining tough new rules to protect the states.
Gold Coast would need to quarantine for 14 days if they returned home immediately after Round 5.
Now it appears the Suns will stay in Melbourne and take on another Victorian club a week later before returning to the Gold Coast via a fortnight in Sydney.
But at the rate the situation is moving, those plans could be tossed out the window within seconds.
Regardless, it looks like the Suns will have some sacrifices. Should the Gold Coast host a second hub? Should the Suns go into a hub in another state? Could an interstate hub jeopardise the Suns rich vein of form? We ask fans their thoughts.
NATHAN MOLLENHOF
Play two weeks in Melbourne, as scheduled.
Then take on Carlton (as scheduled) in Sydney in some kind of hub, play the two Sydney teams there before coming home to a packed Metricon Stadium (or Gabba) for QClash. Hopefully by then Victorian teams will be in hubs thus allowing them to come to Queensland.
SHARON EDWARDS
Forget playing in Melbourne, they need to relocate out of Victoria.
Hub for us in Darwin, then home games.
DARREN KENT
I can hear the Victorian clubs’ fans b---hing now if we stay up here in a hub.
The team needs to be able to win on the road if they want success, so if we had to spend a few weeks interstate, then I’m OK with that.
If (and it’s a big if) we make finals, I don’t want to hear those fans b---hing that we had it easy at home.
LORELLE GIBBS
The only thing that matters is the health and safety of the players and staff (and ultimately their families). The AFL needs to ensure that. Yes, rescheduling will be a nightmare but everyone needs to look at the long-term picture.
LYNTON MARTIN
Seeing we have a partnership with the NT government, it would be great to relocate to Darwin until we can return home without quarantine. Being a young club, I think being in quarantine for 14 days will jeopardise our momentum.