- State closes border to all residents of greater Sydney
- AFL, NRL and Super Netball impacted by new restrictions
GWS Giants, who face Gold Coast on Sunday, will now fly out from Sydney on Thursday afternoon.
Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
Australia’s professional sports leagues have once again been forced to think on their feet after Queensland declared Sydney a Covid-19 hotspot and closed its border to its residents.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Wednesday that no one from greater Sydney would be allowed into her state from 1am on Saturday, leading to the prospect of Sydney’s two AFL teams spending the rest of the season away from home. Other leagues are also having to consider last-minute changes.
The new restrictions will force the Swans and Giants, who will square off in their cross-city derby at Perth’s Optus Stadium on 13 August, to hastily alter a range of plans. GWS will now fly out on Thursday – for Sunday’s clash with Gold Coast – with the Swans expected to also depart NSW two days earlier than first planned.
The Sydney clubs were originally scheduled to share a flight into Queensland on Saturday. That arrangement may no longer be practical given both clubs’ travelling parties will swell because they are taking more players than would be the norm for a single game.
Swans coach John Longmire conceded on Tuesday it was possible that his team would not play again in Sydney this year.
“Anything is possible in this environment,” he said. “You have to roll with the punches a bit. If that’s the case, that’s the case … if the plan changes we’ll move with it. What you’re fast becoming accustomed to is turning up to work on a Monday and being not sure what the next day will bring.”
The impact will also be felt in Super Netball, whose season is due to get under way on Saturday with five games to be played in Sydney over the opening two weekends before the competition moves to a Queensland hub for at least the remainder of the first six rounds.
The teams meant to play in Sydney this week and next – two from Sydney, the Swifts and Giants, plus the Adelaide Thunderbirds and West Coast Fever – would have to enter Queensland before Saturday or obtain a border exemption for the eight-team competition to remain viable.
The NRL, which has previously been given exemptions from border closures but must reapply each time Queensland updates its measures, is seeking reassurance from the Queensland government that will continue to be the case.
The new restrictions will not affect this weekend’s matches given Cronulla play in Brisbane on Friday night, while Canberra and Newcastle’s players are not from the Sydney region. Canterbury’s trip to the Sunshine Coast next weekend in round 13 would be the first travel under threat for the NRL.
And there is uncertainty over the impact of the new restrictions on the Super Rugby Au competition, with the Queensland Reds to play the NSW Waratahs in Sydney on 8 August before heading back to Brisbane to play the Rebels the week after.
The other professional league currently up and running, the A-League, appears to have escaped the latest travel chaos with clubs already locked into a NSW hub, where the remainder of the season will be played out.
