Storm plan AAMI Park return as Victoria gives green light
The Melbourne Storm will be back at their AAMI Park base by Thursday after the Victorian government gave the club the green light to begin contact training.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Monday granted the state's AFL clubs and sole NRL team an exemption to train, allowing the Storm to leave their temporary home in Albury.
"Professional sport, after all it is a workplace, there’s been a lot of work between the AFL and the public health team and we have agreed to a set of arrangements that will allow training for AFL, for rugby league, for other professional sports to resume just before midnight tomorrow night," Andrews said.
The Storm had been forced to train in the NSW border town last week and arrived back in Albury on Monday due to tough coronavirus restrictions enforced by the Victorian government.
But with the AFL nearing a set return date and the NRL just over two weeks away from its restart, Andrews has given the thumbs up for teams to train in Victoria.
"Of course with that happening, once training is up and running again, that paves the way for the AFL and other codes to make announcements," Andrews said.
"Training resuming paves the way for footy to be back and I think we all want that, provided it's safe, appropriate and can be done in a cautious way and I’m confident that it can be."
The players will train in Albury on Tuesday before heading back to the Victorian capital.
"Coming back to AAMI Park is another significant step forward as our team continues to prepare for the resumption of the NRL competition at the end of the month," a Storm statement read.
"The club would like to thank the Victorian government for their assistance in bringing Storm home and allowing our players and staff to be with their families while they undertake their profession."