Jack Riewoldt wants AFL to POSTPONE West Coast’s clash with Brisbane and claims getting them to play amid Covid-19 chaos ‘is unfair’…a week after kicking four goals in Richmond’s 109-point demolition of the Eagles
Jack Riewoldt believes the AFL should postpone West Coast’s upcoming game in Brisbane because of the coronavirus outbreak that has decimated the Eagles.
West Coast face the Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night and have just 22 AFL-listed players available for selection, with eight staff and players currently in the AFL’s health and safety protocols.
Coach Adam Simpson will also miss the showdown against the second-placed Lions with former Essendon coach and Geelong assistant Matthew Knights to step in as senior coach. Meanwhile, four WAFL top-up players have flown to Queensland with the team.
Jack Riewoldt has called for the AFL to postpone the Eagles’ clash against Brisbane
Riewoldt kicked four goals as Richmond thrashed West Coast by 109 points last week and believes allowing the Eagles to carry on threatens the integrity of the competition.
‘I reckon they’re beyond it [the precipice] at the moment. That injury list there and COVID protocol list. It‘s unfair,’ he told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Thursday.
‘I think they [the AFL] should [postpone the game]. It’s not to their detriment – the reason they’re in this situation is because their government held different border restrictions to the rest of Australia.’
West Coast coach Adam Simpson will miss the game against the Lions after testing positive
The Eagles have won just one game in seven rounds so far this season and are bottom of the AFL ladder, conceding an average of over 108 points per game
Bottom of the ladder after seven rounds with just one win, the Eagles had already been dealt a huge blow by Covid-19 in Round 2, when they were forced to make 14 changes due to players being in the AFL’s Covid protocols.
The scenario is almost as bed at Perth’s other club, with Fremantle currently without six players for their clash against North Melbourne on Friday night.
Ahead of the season, the AFL told its 18 clubs that it was determined to play out the fixtures as scheduled, irrespective of the number of Covid-19 cases.
Riewoldt kicked four goals as Richmond thrashed West Coast by 109 points last week
To ensure teams can field the required number of players, the AFL gave clubs the option to register up to 20 players on top of their lists as part of a Covid contingency list.
Having to rely on the top-up players, however, was no solution for the likes of West Coast, who have conceded an average of 108.5 points per game this season. It was also having an impact on their WAFL team, who had to cancel this weekend’s game against East Fremantle.
‘That’s not West Coast or Fremantle’s fault but now they’re certainly paying a heavy price for it, or certainly West Coast are paying a heavier price than Fremantle so far,’ the Richmond veteran continued.
‘They’ve got four blokes that they are going to call from WAFL – not only is it affecting the AFL but then the teams that they’re picking from the Western Australian Football League is affected too.’