'Severe disadvantage': Port, Crows destined for hubs
Severe disadvantage: David Koch says the hurdle for Port will make "victory even sweeter".Credit:Justin McManus
Port Adelaide president David Koch says his club will be severely disadvantaged as the AFL's two South Australian teams prepare to travel to hubs in order to restart the season.
South Australian health officials' refusal to grant the AFL an exemption from the state's strict 14-day quarantine period and allow teams to engage in full-contact training threw the league's restart plans into further disarray on Wednesday night.
It means that despite the Victorian government giving AFL clubs an exemption on Monday to start full training this week, the competition's restart is being held up by both the South Australian and Western Australian governments.
"We're disappointed with the decision but we have always said we take the advice of medical experts," Koch said on Seven Network's Sunrise program.
"It will put us at a severe disadvantage to the big Melbourne clubs and other interstate clubs ... but that will make victory even sweeter to get over those hurdles.
"Our preference is Queensland but obviously we will base anywhere we need to be part of the competition."
The Crows are also preparing for a move interstate, with Adelaide board member Mark Ricciuto telling Triple M radio on Tuesday that he had spoken to Crows CEO Andrew Fagan on Monday night and that Fagan would be looking into a hub option for the club on Tuesday,
The Crows are preparing to move into a hub, according to Mark Ricciuto.Credit:Getty Images
"I spoke to Andrew Fagan ... last night and that's what he'll be doing today [finding a place for the Crows to set up a hub]." Ricciuto said.
"All footy club presidents and CEOs and footy managers have been changing what they're doing daily, it's been just a moving feast.
"And that's going to continue for Adelaide after that announcement last night. Who knows, I wouldn't be surprised if it changes again here in the next few days.
"But as of this morning I think the Adelaide Football Club will be preparing to play in hubs outside of Adelaide for pre the games starting, and then maybe up to the first five weeks of the footy season so they can get some certainty in the programming for the AFL because the fixture's a bloody hard thing to get sorted at the best of times, especially when you don't know what's going on with all the restrictions from the premiers and the health departments of individual states."
In a letter addressed to AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, SA chief public health officer Professor Nicole Spurrier and Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens said after considering the revised protocols the COVID-19 transition committee had decided that "any economic and social benefits to be gained by allowing modification or exemptions to SA quarantine requirements for AFL players and staff were not outweighed by the public health risk."
Spurrier told Triple M radio on Tuesday they agonised over the decision but the risk of having players and officials fly in and out of the state without serving the quarantine period was too great. She said that the Crows' training incident in the Barossa Valley did not influence their decision.
"It's got nothing to do with that. That's absolutely a separate thing," Spurrier said.
However minutes from the Australian Health Protection Principal committee revealed the camp did cause concerns among the nation's health officers.
Victoria shapes as a likely hub option for the Crows, with the two Western Australian clubs set to base themselves in Queensland for the restart, unless the Western Australian government backs away from its strong stance on its border closures.
with AAP