By Luke Voogt
Geelong Cats are preparing for an extended stay interstate with coach Chris Scott keeping options open for players’ families to leave Victoria to join them.
“It’s not an urgent scenario,” Scott told a press conference on Tuesday.
“We made a conscious decision to leave a lot of the families [behind].
“Right at the moment we’re not anticipating that anyone will come from Geelong into Perth.
“What happens after that is an open question but … we’ll address that at the right time.
“If the worst scenario is we’ve got to stay longer to keep the game alive and keep everyone involved in our industry going, then we’re more than happy to do it.”
Reports that players had been denied the chance to bring families were “categorically untrue”, Scott said.
“Everything we’ve done has been our decision. We didn’t have a club policy on it but we did make clear what the scenario would be over here in Perth.”
Only defender Harry Taylor, midfielder Sam Menegola and ruckman Rhys Stanley brought their young families to Perth on the weekend.
Stanley’s and Taylor’s families are quarantining at family farms, while Menegola’s family, including his infant son, are in quarantine at the Cats’ hotel.
“The three guys that brought family members over are West Australians to some degree – either them or their partners,” Scott said.
“They’ll get the chance to introduce their parents to their newborn babies.”
The AFL announced on Wednesday that no home and away games will be played in Victoria for the rest of the season.
This means the Cats will play their remaining eight games after the Perth hub interstate.
The Cats, who have a poor recent record after extended breaks, will have an 11-day rest after Thursday night’s game against Collingwood before playing Fremantle on July 27.
But Scott said the break would help build team cohesion in a “high-performance environment” after several weeks training in pairs and small groups earlier in the year.
“The fact that we’re in quarantine does remove the temptation to get out and take your focus off what you’re trying to do.
“Not being able to get out could get old after a little while but certainly we don’t sense that from our group at the moment.”
This week on the Cats’ website draftees took fans on a virtual tour through the Perth hub, which includes a 24-hour snack bar, gaming room, pool, gym and more .
“The AFL’s done a great job on short notice along with the WA Government to host us in the best conditions possible,” Scott said.
