All Victorian clubs will leave the state at the end of Round 5, with six to spend the rest of the season in a Queensland hub due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne.
The AFL announced on Friday afternoon all Melbourne-based sides will be moved to hubs in NSW, Western Australia and Queensland.
“The health and safety of our people and the wider community is paramount. We will continue to make decisions that are anchored in the advice of governments and designed to protect our people and the wider community,” AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.
“I have said on a number of occasions that this would be a season of challenges. And that the one certainty is that before we completed the 2020 AFL premiership season there would be more unique challenges along the way.
“I would like to thank all of our clubs, players, coaches, umpires and officials for their continued support and ability to adapt quickly as we navigate through the changing environment.
“The Victorian clubs now temporarily moving interstate are playing their part in ensuring our season endures in a year that will continue to challenge us all.”
The AFL also revised the season fixtures, with Geelong now starting Round 6 by ‘hosting’ the Lions at the SCG. The Round 5 draw for this weekend remains unchanged.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed her state would host six of the sides, which are reported to be St Kilda, North Melbourne, Essendon, Western Bulldogs, Richmond, and Carlton.
“Essentially Queensland is going to be the home of the AFL, they should give us the grand final after this,” Palaszczuk told reporters on Friday.
“Four teams are going to be on the Gold Coast and two on the Sunshine Coast.
“There will be a lot more matches at the Gabba and Metricon and of course our capacity is 50 per cent of the public being able to go see these sports stars in action.
“(They’ll be here) for the rest of the season is my understanding.”
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge expected his side to head to either the Gold Coast or WA – as they have already played both Sydney teams – but was unsure whether they would leave early or late next week.
“We expect that (news) today … by the end of the day I think we’ll probably know where we’re going,” Beveridge told reporters on Friday.
Beveridge said the Bulldogs players were excited about heading into the hub, though they would be supported if they elected to stay in Melbourne.
“The difficult thing, I think for everyone who’s going to a hub is just leaving their families behind,” he said.
“I think we’ve got eight dads and the boys will make decisions on whether or not (they go).
“We’d love to take everyone with us, we’ll definitely take all our players.
“We’re hoping to be able to take partners and young children if that’s what the choice is – but there might be one or two who may not be able to go and that’s fine and so we’ll work through that.
“But I think everyone’s probably looking forward to it more than anything, and continuing on with the season and it probably eliminates a lot of the risk, back here.”
Players from seven clubs who live in Melbourne’s COVID-19 hot spots have temporarily moved out their homes to avoid being banned from entering NSW.
The Bulldogs had to relocate seven players and three staff members to a combination of staff member houses, hotels and Airbnbs.
As of Thursday night, Carlton and St Kilda were still in the dark about where and when they will relocate, though coaches David Teague and Brett Ratten both said they were excited at the prospect of a temporary move interstate.
St Kilda were set to play Geelong at Marvel Stadium next Thursday night.
The Blues are due to host Sydney at the MCG in Round 6, but that match appears unlikely to be played in Melbourne due to the NSW government urging its residents not to travel to Victoria.
There will not be a hub in South Australia, with SA Health Minister Stephen Wade ruling out the concept on SEN radio on Friday.
With AAP
from The Roar https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/07/03/six-victorian-clubs-to-spend-rest-of-season-in-queensland/
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