The Irishman also attended the rugby match and it is unclear at this stage into which tier he falls. But the Saints decided out of an abundance of caution not to allow Joyce to fly to Perth. Joyce would have been in strong contention to face the Eagles,having been an emergency for Saturday’s game against Port Adelaide. Defender Tom Highmore broke his hand in that match and won’t play against the Eagles. Oscar Clavarino and James Frawley headed to Perth and are in contention to take on West Coast.
Ruckman Rowan Marshall,who also attended the rugby,also headed to WA.
Dan McKenzie (concussion) stayed in Victoria too.
On Sunday,Toby Greene,Matt de Boer and Callum Mills were ruled out of the Sydney derby in Queensland at the last minute after being among a group of 15 Swans and Giants players and officials caught up in the COVID-19 scare at this week’s Wallabies versus France Test match in Melbourne.
There were five late changes to the game,with Swans Harry Cunningham and Colin O’Riordan also forced out due to health protocols. De Boer had been the Giants’ medi-sub.
Club sources said the group would have to quarantine for 14 days due to Queensland regulations but that would be back-dated from Tuesday,meaning they would be able to leave quarantine in nine days’ time.
The AFL on Monday released its latest fixture revisions for round 19.
As flagged,the Dogs will now face Melbourne in a top-of-the-ladder clash,brought forward by a week as part of a reshuffle also involving Hawthorn,Adelaide,Brisbane and Gold Coast.
The Melbourne-Dogs clash will be played this Saturday night at the MCG.
Several other pre-existing fixtures have moved days.
Port Adelaide are still due to host Collingwood at Adelaide Oval on Friday night,pending approval from the South Australian government. The Crows-Hawks clash,brought forward from round 20 to 19 as part of the reshuffle,also needs the SA government’s green light before proceeding on Saturday night.
Essendon and the Giants are due to meet on Sunday. A venue is yet to be confirmed although club sources expected the match to be played at Metricon Stadium after the Swans-Dockers game.
“We will continue to make changes that best manage the current environment,progresses our season and protects the health and safety of those in our game and the wider community,” AFL fixture chief Travis Auld said.
“While the round in which some matches will be played has changed,our intention remains to complete the home-and-away season with the match-ups as originally scheduled.
“The pandemic will continue to challenge us over the coming weeks and,as an industry,we will band together and remain adaptable as we navigate those challenges.
“As we have done throughout the pandemic,we will work closely with respective state and territory governments,all AFL clubs and other key stakeholders while ensuring the health and safety of the community remains paramount.”
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