The AFL season has been thrown into chaos yet again as as Victorian health authorities attempt to get the state’s latest COVID-19 outbreak under control.
Richmond’s must-win clash with the Brisbane Lions has been shifted from the MCG to Metricon Stadium as Melbourne prepares to join the Greater Sydney area in another lockdown.
The Lions arrived in Victoria on Wednesday ahead of Friday night’s scheduled match against the out-of-form reigning premiers, which will be Tigers legend Jack Riewoldt’s 300th game.
However, those clubs will now head north and play their game in the same timeslot but the Gold Coast venue.
Riewoldt earlier on Thursday remarked he would understand if his milestone match was affected in any way due to the COVID-19 situation.
“It is an important game of football for me but there are more important things at stake here at the moment and that’s obviously the health and wellbeing of everyone here in Victoria,” Riewoldt said.
“The whole week has been special to me. There could be one person or 100,000 people in the stands on the weekend and it would still be as important to me.”
North Melbourne and Essendon were earlier added to a growing list of clubs shifting to Queensland
Sydney and GWS flew out of Melbourne on Thursday morning after being told of their latest move late on Wednesday night.
The Western Bulldogs, who are due to play Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday, were departing earlier than planned on Thursday.
And the Victorian exodus is not ending there with the Kangaroos’ match against Essendon on Sunday now moved from Marvel Stadium to Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast.
The Bombers are scheduled to play GWS in round 19, before a date with the Swans the following week.
Those games will likely be played in Queensland, especially if the Victorian situation worsens.
The Sydney teams were to play their derby in Ballarat on Saturday but that will now be played in Queensland at either the Gabba or Metricon Stadium.
Both clubs have been based in Victoria since June 22 due to NSW’s coronavirus crisis but will now call Queensland home for the immediate future.
With Melbourne set to enter a fifth lockdown, any remaining games scheduled for the Victorian capital this weekend will need to be played without a crowd.
As has been the case in previous lockdowns, the AFL moved swiftly to relocate clubs.
“The decisions we have made this morning regarding the locations of a number of teams have been taken out of an abundance of caution,” the league’s club and broadcasting manager Travis Auld said.
“Our approach remains to take risk out of the season where the opportunity presents.
“We continue to work towards our priority of reuniting the families of both the GWS Giants and Sydney Swans and the decision to relocate both sides to Queensland provides maximum flexibility required to achieve that.
North players and staffers have been told to pack for a three-week stint away from home.
“We need to do what we can to keep the season moving,” North’s chief executive Ben Amarfio said.
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young said she was not worried about Victorian AFL teams entering the state.
“They’ve got really good plans,” she told reporters on Thursday as Victoria reported 10 new local COVID-19 cases.
“The NRL and the AFL have been absolutely fantastic because they’ve been doing this for so long.”
AFL meetings were continuing on Thursday to deal with the developing situation.
AAP
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