AFL calls off Suns-Hawks match in Darwin due to Melbourne’s COVID outbreak

The AFL has announced Saturday night’s match between Gold Coast and Hawthorn will not go ahead in Darwin in the wake of Melbourne’s COVID-19 outbreak.

The league has not confirmed when the match will be played.

The Hawks had been planning to fly out of Melbourne for Darwin on Thursday.

Essendon and Carlton were able to depart Melbourne for their round 11 interstate matches on Wednesday.

The Bombers are scheduled to play West Coast in Perth on Saturday night, while the Blues face the Sydney Swans at the SCG.

Players and staff from both clubs were to be tested and isolated in Perth and Sydney respectively until receiving the results of their tests.

The AFL’s announcement about the Suns-Hawks clash comes after the league advised Victorian-based players to limit their movement outside of their homes because of the new coronavirus cases in Melbourne.

“The AFL has advised all Victorian teams that players and staff should minimise their movements outside of their homes for the time being as it continues to monitor the evolving COVID situation in Victoria,” an AFL spokesperson said.

The AFL also acknowledged it was aware a spectator who attended last Sunday’s match between Essendon and North Melbourne at Melbourne’s Docklands stadium had since tested positive for COVID-19.

Victoria’s Department of Health has listed the venue as an exposure site.

“Marvel Stadium (Docklands) undertakes cleaning of the venue after each match and, out of an abundance of caution, a deep clean of the identified zone is now being undertaken,” an AFL statement read.

“We remind all fans attending this week’s round of matches to ensure they scan the QR code in stadiums to further assist with the ongoing management of the pandemic.”