West Coast coach Adam Simpson is taking a glass half-full approach to the club’s temporary Gold Coast stint and embracing the unique opportunity it presents.
Speaking to Channel Seven, the premiership mentor declared the players and staff in the travelling party were keen to board the plane to assist with the AFL season relaunch.
However, there remains uncertainty around border restrictions and the fixture beyond the next four games.
The Eagles hope a month-long trip east doesn’t extend any longer and – while the community’s health and safety remains the priority – the club is keen to play home games at Optus Stadium.
“If it continues to go like this with the borders the (travel) exemptions are probably the only way to get some sort of equal look at the season,” Simpson said.
“We don’t want to be in the hub for 16 weeks, we’d like to get back here as quick as we can.
“I suppose when the time is right the AFL can work with the WA government to try to get us some exemptions on travel, but that’s in the future.
“We’re all keen to go and do what’s right for the competition, but we need that return date so we can plan.
“The families that do have to travel and the families that we leave behind, we need a return date, we’d like it to be around four weeks but we still haven’t got that clarity yet.
“It’s (the Gold Coast hub) unique. It’s an opportunity. I think there’s a lot of positives about the whole thing and that’s the approach we need to have.
“Once we get all these little things worked out we’ll be going full steam.”
The Eagles were back into contact training on Monday after slick match simulation work last Friday and will have another high-tempo session with contact at Mineral Resources Park before boarding the plane to Gold Coast.
“The boys were pretty good today. We had a pretty big hit-out Friday and they backed it up today with another contact session,” Simpson said.
“We played another 15 or 20 minutes of footy and at the moment we’re getting through unscathed and they’re hitting the marks with the elevation of training. We’ll have a big hit-out on Friday and into game prep.”