As Victorian clubs play their last games in the state for the foreseeable future, Dogs coach Luke Beveridge wants to the AFL to open hubs to players’ families.
Beveridge says players’ mental welfare should be at the forefront of AFL decision-making when it comes to making calls on which family members can join them in interstate hubs.
Ten Victorian clubs will leave the state, amid its COVID-19 spike, ahead of Round 6.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to fly out of Melbourne on Monday afternoon ahead of matches against Carlton and Essendon on the Gold Coast and expect to be away for up to five weeks.
Beveridge tipped all his players would be part of the travelling party and that “six or seven” of them are hopeful of taking young families with them to Queensland.
“You’ve got to make a case for yourself but I can’t see how you’d be able to knock back a father who wants to take his partner and their child up for a month, especially when the children are so young,” Beveridge said after the Dogs’ 49-point thumping of North Melbourne.
“You blink and they’ve changed, you pick them up in the morning and they look different – you wouldn’t deny that of any young man.
“The critical thing for all the players at every club is a healthy mind and healthy body.
“Anything that keeps them on the right tangent, which is having your family around you if you absolutely need it, is quite critical. So hopefully that’s a fait accompli.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott has urged his players to embrace the hub challenge and expected all of them would travel, with the Cats heading to Sydney to play Brisbane at the SCG before travelling west to the Western Australia hub.
“At the same time we’ve got a responsibility to the people left home,” Scott told reporters after Geelong’s 37-point win over Gold Coast.
“I suspect people say ‘Oh come, on it’s not that bad, is it? Cricketers go on the road all the time.’
“The challenge is that it’s been so quick and we haven’t had a chance to prepare for it.
“No one went into the season, really knowing what we’d signed up for but I think we’ve adjusted pretty quickly, at least psychologically.”
Victoria’s COVID-19 spike only appears to be getting worse, but North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw did not expect to spend longer on the road than the five weeks the AFL has told them to plan for.
“The information that I’ve been getting is it wouldn’t be much longer than that,” Shaw said.
Nico
Roar Rookie
I can see his point. The Eagles have not had Jack Darling functioning, and I’ll bet it’s the family element. Although he could have brought them… but didn’t. In fact, Darling should have opted out of hub. Can’t wait to see him back at his best in WA.
DTM
Guest
It's a little more complicated than this. Some players have children as well as partners with careers. Normally they manage their time with their kids with assistance from relatives and maybe the local childcare facility. Being relocated for 5-6 weeks means if the family goes, there is no extended family to assist, any childcare facilities are foreign to the kids and the partners career is more challenging. Probably, in these situations the partners and kids will not go. That seems sensible but then you get player A in the hub with his kids and player B without his partner and his kids. Which will perform better on the field? No correct answer to these challenges and it provides more disadvantage to some teams than others. My point is that we probably need to be mindful of the players circumstances before being too critical of their performances.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
The State Governments will decide this, not the AFL. I certainly wouldn’t let a bunch of snotty nosed kids across the NSW boarder in masses. Any player who cannot stomach a few weeks away from their family is welcome to stay at home. Just gives a hungry youngster an opportunity to show their mettle. Toughen-up, people. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, especially economically for many.
Johnno
Roar Rookie
I thought likewise. If it’s good enough for current teams in hubs, it’s good enough for the Vic teams. I would be surprised if it weren’t the same.
RT
Roar Rookie
I thought it was a given that players could take families if they wanted. That was the case in Qld. It can’t be that many who would want to anyway as once kids are school age they will probably stay home, so cost shouldn’t be prohibitive.