WEST Coast and Fremantle will be able to complete their two-week quarantine period at home when they return to Western Australia sometime in July.
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WA Premier Mark McGowan announced the news on Tuesday in a major development for the Eagles, Dockers and the AFL in general that paves the way for a Western Derby.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson warned the AFL last week that if the WA Government ruled players and staff must quarantine in hotels then the Eagles would not stay in Queensland beyond round five.
This change means both clubs will be able to train and potentially play a match against one another during that quarantine period, although McGowan said they would have to abide by "very strict" rules.
"When some of the (West Coast and Fremantle) team members came back (from overseas or interstate) prior to the season commencing, they were required to home quarantine," McGowan said.
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"That will be the restriction that is placed upon them.
"They'll be able to train subject to certain very strict conditions, and the Eagles and Dockers, within the 14 days' quarantine, will be able to play one another in a derby if that's possible."
Both WA clubs offered to undergo daily COVID-19 tests – they are currently being tested twice weekly – among other strict measures in order to avoid hotel quarantine.
It is the latest positive for football out west, with McGowan giving the green light on Monday for sporting grounds to be at 50 per cent capacity from this Saturday, then 100 per cent from July 18.
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Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett has also revealed plans are well advanced for a WA quarantine hub that would deliver a stretch of home matches for the two local clubs.
McGowan confirmed visiting Victorian clubs would likely be able to play against one another during the quarantine period if they were sent to compete in the WA hub but that his government was watching the Essendon COVID-19 situation closely.
The situation will almost certainly create a bye during this two-week stretch, given the WA teams play each other just once this year, as with every team.
"During the quarantine period, it's my expectation that those interstate teams, particularly the Victorian teams, wouldn't be able to play Western Australia teams," he said.
"They may well be able to (play against each other) within the hub arrangement in which they are, in effect, in a bubble."
An AFL announcement on the next block of matches after round five is imminent.
