Qld best option for AFL hub: Eagles coach

West Coast picked Queensland as its base for the AFL season resumption to ensure Victoria’s 10 teams weren’t handed a serious advantage.

The Eagles weighed up relocating to the Gold Coast or Melbourne after tight border controls prevented Western Australia’s two teams flying in and out of their state for matches.

But West Coast coach Adam Simpson said the club couldn’t have justified playing ‘home’ games in a state where more than half of the league’s teams are located.

“It might just tip the scales a little bit if we all end up in Victoria, as much as some people might want that,” he told Fox Footy.

“We thought we’d try and make it a little bit more difficult to the Victorian sides.

“A lot of clubs go up to Queensland for pre-season, so we had a look at that and can we get some sort of advantage of playing in a different venue and getting some teams come up and play us.

“We’re now starting to think about what competitive advantage looks like but I think the AFL will do their best to get everything right.”

The Eagles will be joined on the Gold Coast by arch-rival Fremantle, as well as South Australian clubs Adelaide and Port Adelaide.

Those clubs will play at least four games in south-east Queensland, with the AFL set to unveil the first block of the reworked fixture within 10 days ahead of the first match back on June 11.

They are likely to play each other, and Queensland clubs Brisbane and Gold Coast, at the Gabba and Metricon Stadium.

Simpson said it was “not ideal” to shift from Perth for more than a month but the club would make it work.

“I think we accept this is the situation that’s being presented to us,” he said.

“Let’s just get on with it, that’s my attitude.

“We’ve got to try and talk to all of our players and see how they feel, the next step is going to be how they feel about the move.”

In a big win for the players they will be able to take members of their immediate families with them into accommodation at the Royal Pines resort.

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