AFL facing ‘impossible’ reality as Jeff Kennett details ‘great fear’ amid COVID-19 outbreak

Hawthorn president and former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett fears the state’s lockdown could be extended by “a number of weeks”, warning it could mean the AFL season is “heading towards a postponement of some sort”.

Victoria is currently in its fourth COVID-19 lockdown, with nine new locally acquired cases recorded in the past 24 hours, six of which were already reported yesterday.

With the AFL’s Round 12 fixture set to move all Victorian games interstate, Kennett said the league’s immediate future could be impacted by even tighter border restrictions from the rest of the country.

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“I think we will have to wait probably until later this week to see if Victoria extends its lockdown and in particular if New South Wales locks its borders against Victorians travelling,” he told SEN Breakfast.

“If that happens, I think it is almost impossible for the AFL to be able to continue its season at the moment because we’ve been locked out of everywhere. It makes it very, very difficult.

“I am sure the players and the administrations of clubs will do whatever it can to keep the season alive, but the challenge before the AFL at the moment is more serious than it was this time last year and I think all options have got to be considered.”

While Kennett could not confirm whether the state’s lockdown would be extended beyond June 3, he revealed a correspondence with “a very good source” that suggested it was on the cards.

“I got a message last night to indicate that the length of the lockdown might be a number of weeks, which is frightening if correct,” he said.

“If that were the case I don’t see how the season can continue at present. That is, I wonder whether we might be heading towards a postponement of some sort.

“I was told an end date, described to me as a number of weeks … I was told on Thursday, I can’t believe they’ll wait that long, which is why I am questioning the information I got although it came from a very good source.”