By Luke Voogt
Geelong is set to play Brisbane, at the SCG, instead of St Kilda next Thursday as the AFL moves to temporarily relocate all 10 Victorian teams interstate.
The Cats had initially been scheduled to play the Saints at Marvel Stadium for round 6 before AFL chief executive officer Gillon McLachlan announced the sudden changes today.
“By Monday, all 10 clubs will have temporarily moved out of Victoria for the next block of matches,” Mr McLachlan said.
“As you can imagine it has been a major logistical exercise to organise the fixture, source training grounds and secure accommodation in such a short period of time.
“I have said on a number of occasions that this would be a season of challenges. The one certainty of 2020 is every day will throw up a different challenge.”
The decision follows outbreaks in 10 Melbourne hot spots and 17 consecutive days of double-digit COVID-19 case increases in Victoria.
“We have a different fixture today then we had yesterday and as situations change across Australia so has our response,” Mr McLachlan said.
The revised fixture would temporarily relocate Victorian clubs interstate for about 30 days, Mr McLachlan said.
“I want to thank the governments of Queensland, NSW and Western Australia for their support in allowing us to continue our season through different states.”
Both Collingwood and Geelong will head to NSW for one game before flying to Perth as previously planned.
“There will be more challenges ahead and I am also confident that the commitment and unity of our football community will ensure that we overcome them,” Mr McLachlan said.
