June 23, 2020
How good is it that footy’s back?
Having said that, it has been a bumpy couple of weeks as COVID-19 has once again reared its head in Victoria.
We knew that the virus threat was likely to increase again somewhere in the country, and it was only a matter of time before an AFL club was directly impacted, as happened late last week. The Victorian Government has acted to minimise the impacts in that State, and the AFL will continue to responsibly address the impacts on the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
Fortunately, Western Australia has maintained extremely low levels of infection and, as a result, the Premier released the happy news yesterday that we will enter Phase 4 of the WA restrictions roadmap as of this weekend, including the opening of major sport venues to a capacity of 50 per cent. By July 18, when Western Australia looks to move to Phase 5 (all going to plan), we will be allowed a full house at Optus Stadium.
This is great news for everyone, including our footy club and our members, as it means we are (albeit still cautiously) on the path to having crowds back at our home matches!
Unfortunately, our players and football staff are still not home, and we don’t have an exact timeline for that to occur. We have fixtures set in Queensland until round 5, on July 2. What happens with the AFL fixture beyond then is not yet clear and, as the WA borders remain closed, there are still a lot of questions to be answered around how we get our team home and playing in front of you as soon as possible. That includes getting opposition teams into and out of the State, or into a hub scenario in Perth.
It has been announced today that our team will be allowed to quarantine at home when we return from Queensland, which is wonderful news. There was never an expectation that we would have some form of exemption from quarantine, but if that extra two weeks meant that the players and staff would be away from their families in a hotel for another fortnight, it was a definite concern. We’re grateful that the Premier and WA authorities have provided this assurance and I will keep you posted as things progress.
I don’t have to tell you that our onfield results haven’t been what we want while in the Queensland hub, but we’re not making excuses. While it certainly isn’t easy, we need to be on task, and Simmo and his coaching team are working hard with the players.
Everyone has a part to play, and each is as important as the next.
Your part, as it has been during this whole period, is to continue to help limit the spread of COVID-19. We’ve had very good outcomes in Australia, due to everyone’s hard work and diligence, and it’s quite easy to feel that the danger has passed; however, the future of our and so many other industries is dependent on maintaining our good work.
Please remain conscious of physical distancing and hygiene measures, and follow the instructions of the relevant authorities, to ensure that we can all get back to normal life as soon as possible.
Thank you again for your ongoing support of the club, it has been wonderful.
I hope to have some more definitive news on fixtures and return dates, and what that means for you, by the end of the week; in the meantime, stay well, and go Eagles!
Kind regards,
Trevor Nisbett
Chief Executive
