DOZENS of Albury-based Ovens and Murray and Hume league players have been warned against travelling to train and play in the Riverina and Farrer football leagues.
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Less than 24 hours after shutting down the Victorian border, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has threatened to introduce a second border checkpoint north of Albury if coronavirus numbers continue to rise.
"If we find that the bubble we have created on the border doesn't work and we feel it's too high-risk, we will definitely need to take further action," Ms Berejiklian said.
"Do not travel to other parts of NSW unless you absolutely have to.
"If you are an Albury resident, we do not recommend you travel to other parts of NSW, and if we feel in the next few days - or as early as tomorrow - that we need to further protect the community, we will consider what we do, north of Albury."
Star players including Brayden O'Hara, Steve Jolliffe and Elliott Powell live in Albury and are set to play in the Riverina league while Osborne coach Joel Mackie could also be in doubt to lead his club if further restrictions are put in place.
Osborne is playing in the league on permit this year after the Hume league called off its senior competition.
Many players are likely to travel to Wagga and the surrounding district for training on Thursday night.
Ms Berejiklian said another option was to stop the movement altogether between border communities such as Albury-Wodonga.
"So for communities like Wagga and others who have close interaction with people in Albury, I ask you not to visit those border communities from other parts of NSW unless you absolutely have to," Ms Berejiklian said.
The news comes just over a week from the start of the Riverina and Farrer league seasons.
AFL Riverina announced on Wednesday it had put a policy into place to ban Victorian-based players from playing in their leagues this season.
Meanwhile, Albury Thunder's season also hangs by a thread following the Berejiklian warning.
Thunder were set to play Southcity at Greenfield Park later this month.
Club president Rick O'Connell will reassess the situation after training on Wednesday night but believes comments made earlier in the day have put the writing on the wall.
"I fear a decision might be out of our hands," O'Connell said.
"They've told everyone from Wagga not to travel to Albury and I've given up speculating.
"We were just getting our heads around permits and how we were going to get our Victorian players to be able to play and then that one comes from left field.
"I'm not sure what is going to happen."
