Victoria’s finals-bound AFL clubs could join their NSW counterparts in hitting the road for the rest of the season, while the league will make a decision on the grand final venue within days with Perth firming as the host city for the decider.
Melbourne’s coronavirus outbreak has effectively scuppered hopes of the grand final returning to the MCG this year, with no early finals scheduled in Victoria.
The two qualifying finals will be played in Adelaide while Launceston will host two elimination finals, with the league planning to keep Melbourne, Geelong, the Western Bulldogs, Sydney, GWS and Essendon on the move throughout the finals series.
“I’d like to think in the coming days, we’ll have a view of where the grand final will be played,” fixtures boss Travis Auld said at Monday’s AFL finals launch.
“In the meantime you’ve seen with week one of the finals, we’ve fixtured those outside of Victoria.
“It’s highly likely we’ll keep those teams on the road and fixture week two outside of Victoria.
“That gives us the (options) beyond that, and then we’ll see what happens in the coming days.”
If minor premiers Melbourne or third-placed Geelong win their respective qualifying finals, they could remain on the road despite having the second week of finals off.
“It’s a conversation we want to have with those clubs,” Auld said.
“It’s a good example of the sort of conversations we’re having at the moment – there might be the opportunity to keep them on the road
“If we have a decision about the grand final, and if it’s not the MCG – and there’s a lot of ifs in this – then you might put them on the road to prepare for a prelim, wherever that might be.
“Some of these decisions won’t be made until later in the week but they’re the sort of considerations that are happening at the moment.”
Auld said what that meant for relocated families of Sydney and GWS players and staff would likely be assessed on a case-by-case basis in terms of whether they wanted to stay in Melbourne, return home or continue to travel with their team.
A decision on the MCG’s viability as grand final host is expected this week, while a decision on an alternative venue – if required as expected – would come in subsequent days.
Auld said the governments of WA and SA have “put together very compelling pitches to host the grand final” while the Queensland government had told the AFL “they’re there if we need them”.
Auld said a bye between the preliminary and grand final was a possibility, but wouldn’t be drawn on concerns the WA government could pull the pin on a grand final crowd at late notice after a small number of coronavirus cases.
Multiple games this season in Perth were played behind closed doors after COVID-19 scares – including the June 27 clash between West Coast and the Western Bulldogs which was closed to spectators just hours before the first bounce.
AAP
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