The AFL is secretly confident it will be allowed to open gates to the public in Victoria this weekend in what will be a major boost for the league. Here’s the latest.
Victorian footy fans could make a shock return this weekend with the AFL secretly confident it will be allowed to throw open the turnstiles in the wake of Melbourne’s sixth lockdown.
High-level talks for Geelong’s game against St Kilda to be declared open to the public are advancing in what would shape as a major boost for the competition on the eve of September.
Regional Victoria was released from lockdown on Monday night in a political decision which delivered unexpected hope that country-based Cats members would be granted entry for the Round 22 clash against the Saints, which is likely to be played on Saturday night but has not yet been assigned a timeslot.
Victoria’s contact tracers have isolated the latest outbreak to metropolitan Melbourne in a breakthrough which could ultimately strengthen the Cats’ premiership chances.
The Cats’ annual longshot request to play their home finals at GMHBA Stadium would be greatly enhanced if they could safely host crowds down the highway in their final two home-and-away games, particularly if Melbourne remains ridden by the virus.
The Geelong region has not detected a case for several weeks and coach Chris Scott’s decade-long plea for home finals would be hard to ignore if his town was a safe haven.
A decision on whether to welcome footy fans back at Kardinia Park this week is likely to be made by Wednesday.
“If it is safe to do it then we would,” Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday.
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