Managing COVID key to AFL success: Heppell
Essendon captain Dyson Heppel expects AFL clubs that best manage COVID-19 throughout the season will be best placed for success as virus-enforced absences disrupt pre-season training. Is.
There were several absences of the Bombers from the track at Tullamarine on Monday and among players, coaches and staff, Heppel estimated that 20 people were unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols.
"We had a few missing today. It was good to be back in action but we were a little thin in numbers," he said.
"...Hopefully we get them all back on deck this weekend and next week."
Essendon have not imposed strict restrictions on their players, but Heppel said come the season, it will be important to limit the number of COVID-enforced absences.
"There is no special measure that we are putting on ourselves," he said.
"But trying to limit my time in getting out and about, high-density places and things like that, is just trying to do all possible measures to try not to contract it.
"You see around the world in sports around the world, the teams that are handling it best and staying healthy are at the top of the ladder and winning."
Port Adelaide and Adelaide have also been heavily affected, with a large chunk of their respective squads unavailable on Monday as either cases or close contacts.
"We had about a quarter of the squad that are currently under the AFL's health and safety protocols," said Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies.
"Obviously this number will go up and down over the next period."
Crows head of football Adam Kelly said Adelaide understood their isolated players had the same number of players as other clubs, and expected most to return to training at the end of this week or early next week.
Heppel, who has not caught the virus, said that all the positive cases of the bombers were in good health.
The Adelaide and Port Adelaide cases were also either asymptomatic or had relatively mild symptoms.
All players and football staff have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and Kelly said the Crows were planning to get their booster shots as soon as possible.
Powers and crows face an additional layer of difficulty compared to their Victorian counterparts due to South Australia's long quarantine period for cases and the strict definition of what constitutes close contact.
"It's an inconvenience that any of our players and staff who are in isolation do a few extra days," Kelly said.
"But we are not going to question the instructions from the government in that regard."
Adelaide and Port both hope to go ahead with plans to travel to Western Australia in February for their pre-season matches against West Coast and Fremantle respectively.
Meanwhile Heppel was unsure which sanctions would apply to the players, but expected "progress in the coming months" with the AFL.
