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Exclusive: Player split emerges in 'laughable' Victorian ‘avalanche’ against the rest
Exclusive: Player split emerges in 'laughable' Victorian ‘avalanche’ against the rest
www.foxsports.com.au
EXCLUSIVE: Player split emerges in 'laughable' avalanche between Victoria and the rest
Senior stars from West Coast and Fremantle have described a "laughable" divide between interstate and Victorian players over the AFL's delicate balancing act to relaunch the season.
More than 500 players were on the Zoom call and the AFL Players’ Association (AFLPA) is in the process of collating the data from the subsequent survey that was posted in the chat function.
The AFLPA will hold Zoom meetings with clubs over the next few days and they will be able to separate the findings on a club-by-club basis, which should reveal a distinct difference in opinion between the WA clubs and the rest.
Richmond was just one of a several Melbourne-based clubs to have senior players vehemently oppose quarantine hubs with no families, as was proposed on Tuesday by the AFLPA as the worst possible scenario for 2020.
Two-time premiership player Trent Cotchin was one of these to speak out first, but others followed suit from the Tigers and rival Melbourne clubs.
It’s understood no Dockers or Eagles argued against Victoria’s contingent despite having the capacity to do so in the chat function, but were privately bewildered by the way the meeting unfolded.
There have also been players from non-Victorian clubs to express reservations – such as Rory Sloane – but the most vocal in Tuesday’s meeting were from a select few Melbourne teams. And they didn’t hold back during the teleconference.
It was the West Aussies belief, according to two Perth-based sources, that Melbourne-based footballers complaining about travel was ironic given the kilometres Sandgropers must cover every other week during the season.
“Players thought the meeting was dominated too heavily by Victorian players to the point where it was laughable," The Perth-based source told foxfooty.com.au.
"They also thought the players who spoke out are just naive and carried on way too much."
Some of these Western Australian players noted to each other how they packed up and left home when they were 18 to play football and to request the same of players for a few months this year was not asking too much in order to get the game back up and going.
Foxfooty.com.au also understands players on low base wages and match payments, who have accepted the Australian Government’s JobKeeper allowance of $750 per week, are broadly the most eager for football to return.
West Coast and Fremantle players have decided not to speak out against Melbourne-based players as they are keen to present a united approach, but privately many were at the least surprised and the most extremely frustrated by Tuesday’s Zoom call.
They are certain to relay their collective thoughts to the AFLPA during the union’s upcoming ‘online club visits.’
“It was like an avalanche during the meeting from Victorian players,” the source said.
Although there are sticking points with the first phase of eight weeks – such as whether players need three weeks in a hub to train before playing the first of their seven games – it is phase two that has caused the most angst among players in opposition to it.
The AFL has privately assured key stakeholders that the second phase – which could see players in hubs for 12 weeks if restrictions aren’t eased – would not be locked in until well down the track.
But faced with the worst possible scenario of 20 out of a possible 21 weeks in quarantine hubs, one player after another spoke out.
The findings from the survey are likely to present a vast range of viewpoints from opposite ends of the spectrum. It remains to be seen how the AFLPA will bring the playing group together and negotiate with the league from a united viewpoint on such a personal and emotive issue.
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