The Brisbane Lions are bracing to spend some time away from home after being removed from their bus to Melbourne Airport on Sunday morning.
Queensland’s newest COVID-19 cluster has thrown a cloud over the next couple of weeks of the football season, with this Thursday night’s clash between the Lions and Collingwood in Brisbane in the gun.
The AFL may need to move that game to Victoria, after the Lions were told they would need to stay in Melbourne for the time being.
Brisbane were about to be driven to Melbourne Airport when they were told to get off the bus and head back to a hotel.
The club’s AFLW team had already flown out of Melbourne, having faced the Demons in their last regular-season clash on Saturday.
But league officials will be desperate for the Lions to secure a bye in next weekend’s first round of the AFLW finals and allow the COVID-19 situation to unfold.
Adelaide could still steal the bye with a win over Collingwood on Sunday, which would force the AFL to make a difficult decision on Brisbane’s first game of the finals.
The Lions’ AFL team has been in limbo since Thursday night, when their clash with the Cats in Geelong was played after Victoria upgraded its response to Queensland’s cases.
The state’s infections are currently restricted to Brisbane but Gold Coast Suns coach Stuart Dew said his team is prepared to leave Queensland if required.
“We’ll wait for the email and push on. Once we get told we’ll be ready,” Dew said on Saturday night.
“Bags are packed by the front door as far as we’re concerned (and) whatever’s needed, we’ll push on.”
Gold Coast are currently scheduled to play an away match against Adelaide in round three.
“We’ve got an away game next weekend at this point and we’ll just go from there, but I think the whole AFL have shown what they coped with last year,” Dew said.
“(We are) looking forward to whatever comes, take it on.”
North Melbourne coach David Noble said his club are lucky they weren’t playing an hour up the road in Brisbane.
“I don’t know what would have happened with that result,” Noble said after his side’s loss to the Suns at Metricon Stadium.
“But we got a clearance yesterday that playing down here (on the Gold Coast) we were fine.”
Noble said the Kangaroos are still scheduled to fly home to Melbourne on Sunday morning ahead of a Good Friday meeting with the Western Bulldogs.
“We might have to get tested again this week but I think that’s just going to be the standard really, isn’t it,” Noble said.
“What we’ve been briefed on from the AFL is that governments, state governments, will react sharper and quicker now with those areas of partial lockdowns or full lockdown.
“We need to be able to marshal our troops and move really quickly.”
Upcoming matches in Queensland
- Thursday, April 1: Brisbane v Collingwood, Gabba
- Saturday, April 10: Gold Coast v Carlton, Metricon Stadium
- Saturday, April 17: Brisbane v Essendon, Gabba
- Saturday, April 24: Gold Coast v Sydney, Metricon Stadium