Two Super Netball teams have been banned from entering South Australia to join the rest of the competition.
Netball Australia‘s plans to hold the remainder of the season in a hub in Adelaide remain on edge after the two Queensland franchises were denied entry to South Australia.
The Queensland Firebirds and Sunshine Coast Lightning were due to join the four clubs evacuated from Victoria on Thursday ahead of the weekend fixtures, while the Adelaide Thunderbirds flew to Perth to take on the West Coast Fever.
But with South Australia slamming the border shut to Greater Brisbane at 12.01am on Friday, exemptions were not able to be gained for the Queensland teams.
Netball Australia chief executive Kelly Ryan said the league would continue to work with SA Health to gain exemptions for the Queensland teams and satisfy whatever protocols were necessary.
“We fully appreciate that this coronavirus situation doesn’t work with any timelines that the rest of us might want to work with,” Ryan said.
“Despite our best endeavours to get the teams in we haven’t been able to co-ordinate that with SA Health at this time, but we’re continuing those conversations with the view that we would love to get the Queensland teams here as soon as practical.
“But we respect the decisions that have been made, and we absolutely want to protect the health and wellbeing of all South Australian residents in addition to all the other factors that are going on as well.”
The Queensland teams will play each other in a derby match in Brisbane – a clash originally scheduled for round 13 – on Monday night, but Ryan conceded it was “too early to say” whether they would be able to join the other teams in Adelaide next week.
“There are a number of conversations that are unfolding. We‘re continuing to work with them and all the relevant protocols and we’ll see where we end up,” Ryan said.
An extended delay is unlikely but would be disastrous for the league, which is considering condensing its season to ensure all 60 fixtures and finals can be played despite increasing border restrictions and Covid outbreaks.
South Australian Sport Minister Corey Wingard said Netball Australia and the Queensland teams continued to work with SA Health to see “if and when” they could enter the state.
“SA Health and our government‘s first focus has been on keeping South Australians safe,” he said.
“We‘ll continue to do that, but when and where protocols are put in place that SA Health are comfortable with, it gives us a great opportunity … to be in a hub and help complete the season.”
Ryan said on Thursday the league‘s “understanding and expectation” was that teams would not have to quarantine on arrival in South Australia if they entered the state before midnight on Thursday.
That had been crucial for the NSW teams, in particular, who had been forced into extended hotel quarantine after their period of isolation in Queensland was not taken into consideration when the competition moved to Victoria.
But the complete wish list of every club is unlikely to be met in the final weeks of the competition.
“There‘s no perfect scenario here, so everybody has to come to the table with some position that may not be their ideal scenario, but the collegiate feel of everybody surrounding netball has been amazing,” Ryan said.
“If we keep that amazing spirit alive then we‘ll get the best outcome and the best outcome is the completion of the season – and have the welfare of players and staff at the forefront of that.”