Vixens players refuse to board flight, Fever match cancelled

Super Netball’s grand final rematch between the Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever on Sunday has sensationally been cancelled due to the growing COVID-19 situation in Sydney.

Three Vixens players have been refused entry into West Australia after they travelled to Byron Bay, which is considered a red zone by the WA government following the recent eastern suburbs outbreak in Sydney, with remaining teammates refusing to board the flight. Despite not visiting any hot spot areas the players did not receive an exemption.

In a statement the Vixens stated the three players had traveled to northern NSW during their bye weekend before returning to the Queensland hub, while no players or staff visited exposure sites or were considered close contacts, however new border restrictions now stipulate any travel from NSW in the last 14 days is a risk. The Vixens had been in Sydney in for their round 7 match against Collingwood.

The Fever have responded with their own statement saying they have been left “disappointed” by the Vixens refusal to travel to Perth for the fixture.

“This is not in the best interests of the competition and devastating for our club, members, sponsors and fans,” the Fever said. “We are awaiting a ruling from Netball Australia on what this means in regards to the result of the game.”

The Vixens had the opportunity to replace their three ‘compromised’ players so that they could travel to WA, but they opted against it.

It remains unclear whether the match will merely be rescheduled, or whether the Vixens will have to forfeit.

The Vixens, who beat West Coast 66-64 in last year’s grand final, are bottom of the ladder with just one win from seven games.

The Fever have won all seven of their games this season, but their three-match penalty for past salary cap breaches means they are fourth.