West Coast Fever make midnight run to Melbourne to keep Super Netball season alive

West Coast Fever could be in Victoria for at least the next fortnight as Netball Australia scrambles to save the Super Netball season.

Fever made the midnight dash to Melbourne on Tuesday as they look to escape Perth’s lockdown and ensure round nine would go ahead.

This weekend’s game against the NSW Swifts, which had already been moved from Sydney to Brisbane, is to now be played at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on Sunday at 11am.

The game will be closed to fans.

Fever’s scheduled home clash against the Sunshine Coast Lightning meant for Saturday, July 10 at RAC Arena is also likely to be played in Victoria with a day and venue yet to be confirmed.

West Coast’s players, coaches and high performance staff are in hotel quarantine awaiting a negative COVID-19 result before they are cleared to leave their rooms.

The Swifts, Giants, Queensland Firebirds and Sunshine Coast Lightning all headed to Melbourne on Tuesday from Queensland as they escaped that lockdown.

Just the Adelaide Thunderbirds remain outside of Victoria, with Netball Australia monitoring the COVID-19 situation in South Australia before making a decision to relocate the club before their clash with Collingwood.

This is despite both Adelaide and Port Adelaide leaving for Melbourne on a chartered flight on Wednesday ahead of round 16 of the AFL season.

Fever is yet to be told a firm return date to Perth, with the border restrictions between Victoria and WA, as well as the lockdown in the city set to decide their fate.

The WA team had already played five of their first seven games away from home to try to avoid border restrictions and complications, meaning they were set to finish the season with five games at RAC Arena.

With the Lightning clash now a chance to be in Melbourne and Super Netball yet to decide when they will reschedule last weekend’s postponed clash against the Melbourne Vixens, Fever could end up playing just five home games in 2021.

The loss of these games could have a significant financial impact on the club which is already having to pay a $150,000 fine over the next two years for their salary cap rort in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

It is understood clubs are hopeful that they’ll return to a traditional home-and-away fixture from round 11 onwards.

Fever spent all of last season in Queensland as the league tried to limit COVID-19’s impact on the competition, with the WA team defying the odds to make the grand final.