West Coast might be restarting its 2020 campaign from a hub on the Gold Coast, but Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett hopes the club will get to play some football in Western Australia later this year.
Speaking to TAB Radio this morning, Nisbett said the club was 100 per cent focused on making its transition to Queensland as smooth as possible ahead of the season restart on June 11.
However, he also made it clear that the club remained optimistic about hosting fixtures at Optus Stadium in the near future.
“We have made this commitment to go to the Gold Coast and our planning is in preparation for that,” Nisbett said.
“But as we’ve seen with all of the things that have happened around this pandemic, things have changed daily and what we’d like to see is if the restrictions come off earlier than expected and we get to the phase three and four we might be in a position where we can fly teams in and play.
“The (WA) premier has been very categoric in saying that’s not likely in the short term and we understand that, but we also want to be optimistic and hope that at some stage in the near future … we’ve got the opportunity to get some games off in WA.
“I don’t think anyone is closing the door on that.”
West Coast is now working through the logistics of relocating its headquarters from Mineral Resources Park to the Gold Coast’s Royal Pines Resort.
The club will take a maximum 24 football staff – as mandated by the AFL – and it is still determining how many players will travel to the sunshine state.
“Those 24 staff members will go to the Gold Coast and now (senior coach) Adam (Simpson) will be sorting out what size squad he takes if he doesn’t take everyone,” Nisbett said.
“We may be there for the four weeks and we may need a lot of the squad to play. It’s going to mean that Adam and his match committee will have to work through that over the next week or two.
“It’s been a long wait trying to work through all of the permutations that goes with trying to get the season started, but finally there is a start date and certainly the players and staff can start to work on something concrete
“We’re just going to have to be … agile and flexible. That’s exactly what we’re going to have to be and I think our players and staff are now getting their heads around that.”
