BRISBANE expects its entire squad to be back in Queensland by the end of next week, easing coach Chris Fagan's initial fear that some players could face delayed returns to training due to the state's strict quarantine laws.
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Speaking earlier this month, Fagan said he would prefer his players to return from their home states sooner rather than later to avoid being forced to serve their two-week isolation periods during training dates.
His comments came after 16 of the club's 47-man squad left Queensland in the wake of the AFL season being suspended due to the coronavirus crisis.
However, with the wheels in motion for competition to resume in planned quarantine hubs, Fagan revealed on Thursday morning that the majority of his squad has returned to Queensland – with the rest likely to arrive by the end of next week.
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"I think when it first happened about 31 or 32 decided to stay in Brisbane and another 15 or so went back to their states of origin and to their families," Fagan told SEN Breakfast.
"Gradually over the last couple of weeks a number of those boys have returned. Maybe by the end of next week, pretty much all of them will be back.
"Obviously you can train in pairs with the proper social distancing and all of that stuff – and the climate up here is pretty conducive to training at this time of year.
"Most of them have done their time at home and really enjoyed it, but they're looking forward to coming back and getting together with their teammates again."
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Fagan said a recent text from Neale Daniher, who is fighting a high-profile battle with motor neurone disease, helped him approach the AFL's plan to restart the season with renewed perspective.
"It made me think 'How would Neale handle this?' Fagan said.
"When you think about (his battle) and then you think about what we're faced with ... it's relatively minor, it's short term.
"We're not going to jail, we're not going to die, we're not going to war, it will end, we will get back to normal (but) it's just going to take a bit of sacrifice for a while.
"I figure right now what we need to do is actually suck it up and do what's best for the game in the hope that we can return to where we've been at over the past 50 years.
"That's my attitude towards it, and the majority of our players."
Fagan has contacted Australian cricketers to ask them about their experiences on lengthy tours to places like India as he has sought to get a better understanding of the hub concept.
As the League seeks to emerge from the financially-crippling COVID-19 shutdown, there is growing confidence that relevant authorities will soon give the green light to restart the season as early as June.
