The AFL and the Melbourne Storm have received a major boost after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that they would be cleared to train from Wednesday.
Andrews made the announcement on Monday as he eased restrictions on the state, allowing groups of 10 to partake in sport and exercise as long as they abide by social distancing, clearing the path for sports such as golf to return.
The premier addressed professional sports directly, indicating that they will be allowed to resume training from Wednesday.
"There has been a lot of work between the AFL and the public health team," Andrews said.
"We have agreed to a set of arrangements which will allow training for AFL, for Rugby League and for other professional sports to resume from just before midnight tomorrow night.
"With that happening, that paves the way for the AFL and other codes to make announcements.
"It paves the way for footy to be back and think we all want that, provided it is safe and appropriate."
Daniel Andrews:
— 7AFL (@7AFL) May 11, 2020
“There’s been a lot of work between AFL and public health team. Training will be able to resume from midnight tomorrow night and that paves the way for the AFL to be back.”
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He also suggested that they would be able to bypass social gathering restrictions if they use self-contained, exclusive venues for training.
“What we have done is said that each sport, and obviously sports are different, will put in place what (their own) plans are...but they must be self-contained,” he said.
“If they are using a training facility or a gym or an outdoor area, it must be exclusively for them.
"We can’t have a situation where there is a carve-out for professional sport because of their workplace, because it’s basically our job, we can’t have a carve-out and then have other people not connected to that sport intermingling, if you like.
“This is about containment. It is about managing the risk, and in the event that there are positive tests, we are in a strong position to be able to contact trace and take appropriate public health measures are deemed so.
“This is exclusively for those sports, and they need to have to control the space there in and they need to listen to the advice of the chief health officers, but a very positive partnership, not just with footy, but with rugby league, other codes, and I’m confident that they understand that there are risks.”
The AFL is yet to announce a return date as the code battles with state governments over flu shot policies and proposed quarantine hubs.
They are also waiting on handing down punishment for the Adelaide Crows, who confirmed that several players were caught breaching training protocols.
Along with the AFL, it will be welcome news for the Melbourne Storm, who were forced to relocate to Albury in order to resume training for the restarted NRL season, which is set to begin on May 28.
The club faced significant backlash from the council, who banned them from using community facilities before being granted permission from the Albury Tigers to use their facilities.
