bornadog
02-02-2022, 03:49 PM
link (https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-planning-for-the-replacements-from-vfl-and-other-state-leagues-20220201-p59t16.html)
The AFL will have a contingency plan to bring in “top-up” players from the state leagues to ensure clubs can field teams in the event of excessive COVID cases.
The AFL will be encouraging clubs to consider top-up options – such as from their VFL or WAFL and SANFL teams – in preparation for a COVID outbreak that would otherwise mean they wouldn’t have the numbers to field a team.
AFL sources said the AFL would have a top-up player plan or policy in place before the start of the 2022 season, and that clubs should begin identifying players who could be brought in as “train-ons” who could be eligible to play at AFL level in the event of COVID cases.
Using clubs’ own state league – or affiliate club – players as top-ups for COVID represents the easiest option for the clubs and competition, given all the difficulties involved. The prevailing view is that it is probably not feasible for all 18 clubs, or most of them, to be drafting in several players per club at the same time.
Senior AFL figures have a strong view that the games must be played and completed, even if clubs have compromised playing lists due to COVID cases, and they plan only to postpone games when clubs are severely depleted – the situation for some teams, such as the Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney, in the AFLW.
The AFL has not worked out the details of a top-up player pool, such as the amount players could be paid, their contract terms and impact on the salary cap. But the men’s competition is probably less vulnerable given that its playing lists of 42-44 (for 23 players, counting the medical substitute) offer more of a buffer than the 30 (plus five train-ons) for the AFLW.
The potential for teams to lose a sizeable number of players to the virus – and thus struggle to field a team – has been underscored in the AFLW competition, and the massive number, estimated at close to half of 800 AFL players, barring the Perth teams, who have had COVID-19 during the December-January break.
Some clubs have had a clear majority of their players test positive. Under the current regulations, those players would be unavailable for at least seven days, though in some cases, players might not recover sufficient fitness for longer than seven days.
The AFL, meanwhile, is optimistic that it can find a way to get West Coast and Fremantle to play games with minimal disruption should the WA border remain closed and subject to a 14-day quarantine for those who return.
The most drastic possibility would be to move Fremantle and West Coast to Melbourne, but the league has been in dialogue with the WA government and is hoping to find another way. In the past two seasons, teams travelling in and out of WA have been subject to stringent conditions and testing.
The AFL will have a contingency plan to bring in “top-up” players from the state leagues to ensure clubs can field teams in the event of excessive COVID cases.
The AFL will be encouraging clubs to consider top-up options – such as from their VFL or WAFL and SANFL teams – in preparation for a COVID outbreak that would otherwise mean they wouldn’t have the numbers to field a team.
AFL sources said the AFL would have a top-up player plan or policy in place before the start of the 2022 season, and that clubs should begin identifying players who could be brought in as “train-ons” who could be eligible to play at AFL level in the event of COVID cases.
Using clubs’ own state league – or affiliate club – players as top-ups for COVID represents the easiest option for the clubs and competition, given all the difficulties involved. The prevailing view is that it is probably not feasible for all 18 clubs, or most of them, to be drafting in several players per club at the same time.
Senior AFL figures have a strong view that the games must be played and completed, even if clubs have compromised playing lists due to COVID cases, and they plan only to postpone games when clubs are severely depleted – the situation for some teams, such as the Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney, in the AFLW.
The AFL has not worked out the details of a top-up player pool, such as the amount players could be paid, their contract terms and impact on the salary cap. But the men’s competition is probably less vulnerable given that its playing lists of 42-44 (for 23 players, counting the medical substitute) offer more of a buffer than the 30 (plus five train-ons) for the AFLW.
The potential for teams to lose a sizeable number of players to the virus – and thus struggle to field a team – has been underscored in the AFLW competition, and the massive number, estimated at close to half of 800 AFL players, barring the Perth teams, who have had COVID-19 during the December-January break.
Some clubs have had a clear majority of their players test positive. Under the current regulations, those players would be unavailable for at least seven days, though in some cases, players might not recover sufficient fitness for longer than seven days.
The AFL, meanwhile, is optimistic that it can find a way to get West Coast and Fremantle to play games with minimal disruption should the WA border remain closed and subject to a 14-day quarantine for those who return.
The most drastic possibility would be to move Fremantle and West Coast to Melbourne, but the league has been in dialogue with the WA government and is hoping to find another way. In the past two seasons, teams travelling in and out of WA have been subject to stringent conditions and testing.