The spectre of a return to hub life has loomed over the AFL throughout this season, as cities and states have attempted to put out COVID-19 spot fires.
With Melbourne and Victoria entering a second ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown this week, players, coaches and staff have been forced to confront the potential of going on the road again.
AFL chief executive officer Gillon McLachlan says administrators are working through contingency plans, but they hope not to send Victorian teams interstate.
“That’s not our plan. We know what we can do, we know what our players can do, we know we can go there,” McLachlan told a press conference on Thursday.
“We’re looking ahead to the next two or three rounds, but they will be determined by what happens over the coming weekend in Victoria.”
In the meantime, clubs are preparing to embrace the flexibility and chaos that characterised the 2020 season.
Melbourne football performance manager Alan Richardson says the Dees will lean on their travelling experience.
The players were tested and sent into isolation on Thursday after a teammate visited a COVID-19 exposure site, compromising their preparation for a top of the table clash with the Bulldogs.
Tonight will have an eerie familiarity; when last the stands sat empty for a match in Melbourne, cases were skyrocketing and plans were being drawn to take the show north.
“Our guys coped really well when we went on the road,” Richardson recalled on SEN Breakfast.
“Basically, the eccentrics took over. The (Jake) Levers, the (Max) Gawns, those guys have a really good balance of when to be serious and when to enjoy their footy.
“They’ve had a real influence on the rest of the group, and we’d expect nothing less tonight.”
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale says the Tigers are steeled in case the whirlwind interstate trip drags out for weeks.
“Their expectation is, ‘let’s be cautious, let’s be conservative, let’s anticipate we’re on the road for a couple of weeks’,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“It’s not based on any concrete evidence or direction from the AFL, it’s just being cautious.”
West Coast Eagles coach Adam Simpson says his players are ready to adapt to the changing circumstances after a torrid time on the road in 2020.
The Eagles were based in Queensland from Round 2 to Round 6 in 2020 and slipped to 1-3, before bouncing back with eight straight wins - six of them in Perth.
“I think we’re okay,” Simpson told SEN’s Gilly and Goss.
“Last year was a lot of unknown. I think we were the first along with Freo when we jumped on a plane and went and played for five weeks in Queensland.
“It’ll be a little bit different if it happens this time around. We’re a lot more prepared, and I doubt it’ll be the five week on the road stint.
“We’ll wait and see, but we’re prepared to do anything this year.”
Simpson doesn’t anticipate WA Premier Mark McGowan’s hard line on borders will interfere with the Eagles’ season.
“The government are a little bit more experienced in this situation,” he explained.
“The gut feel is they’ve not relaxed with some of the restrictions, but we’re a bit smarter in how we go about it if there’s a little outbreak here or there.
“Look at the current situation in Victoria for example. We lock down for a week, try to get it under control then hopefully re-assess.”
Three matches will be played in Melbourne this weekend, with the South Australian border closure requiring Richmond’s meeting with Adelaide be shifted to Sydney.