AFL quarantine hubs could be revisited after Western Australian premier Mark McGowan refused to relax the state’s border restrictions.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, McGowan wouldn’t “compromise” to aid the AFL’s ‘fly in, fly out’ model, meaning West Coast and Fremantle may be forced to relocate to Victoria ahead of the season restart.
“We are not going to compromise on our hard borders just to meet the needs of football,” McGowan said.
“The hub arrangement, in which teams were going to move to Western Australia and play football, was a great arrangement.
“I’d urge the AFL to continue to pursue that arrangement because it would have meant that the integrity of our borders (remains).
“Lots of people move away for work and live in difficult conditions. Football players in the current difficult economic times should be no exemption to that.
“Our football teams have been disadvantaged by football hierarchy for a long period of time and if that is what happens then that would be a further disadvantage for Western Australian teams.”
WA has gone seven full days with no new COVID-19 cases.
Mid-June has been mooted as a possible date to resume the 2020 season.