Dons' match postponed.

[K]

"Sources have indicated that Mason Redman, Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker, Adam Saad, Jordan Ridley, Matt Guelfi and Marty Gleeson – most of whom, like McKenna, are defenders – formed part of McKenna's small training group.
...

The AFL's view is that the small training groups were designed in large part for this contingency, so that if a player tested positive they could limit the number of others potentially affected. If a small group was all put in quarantine, the league said it would be akin to a group of players getting gastro and the game going ahead.
...

McKenna, whose lease on the house he lives in is coming up, has admitted he went to a house inspection on Wednesday.
...

McKenna has a history of breaking club-imposed rules. Last year he caused a minor stir by playing in a Gaelic football match for local club Eglish without the Bombers' permission. Sources who have regular dealings with McKenna have indicated he is the kind of person who "runs his own race"."

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/bombers-could-play-on-if-only-small-group-of-players-quarantined-20200621-p554na.html

[Pies4shaw]

Great, they should be set to play us with no defenders at all. That might be quite funny.

[Johnno75]

Article also says DDHS to determine list of players to be quarantined as they did have a full scale training session so it could depend who else he had contact with and for how long (good luck working that out).

AFL says determined to proceed with games if Essendon can select 26 players.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Anyone know when the melb v ess game will be played. Im tipping the dees for this match.

[K]

[Dave The Man]

Ban McKenna for the Season and then he can go home

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Got to play this game tomorrow night methinks Tuesday 730pm its only 1 player just don't play him simple. Don't inconvenient the rest of the fixturing due to this debarcle of 1 player. The show must go on. Play it this week or reward the Melbourne dees the 4 points simple.

[Pies4shaw]

There's a contact tracing problem, 90 nice. He was at training, grouped closely with, as I understand the reports, the whole of what passes for Essendon's defence. Certainly, none of them can play, either, until they're cleared and, if they're in isolation, who else on the team were they in contact with that should also be isolated?

I agree with K that is more unfair to Melbourne than Essendon. On the other hand, it'd be quite unfair to the rest of the competition if Melbourne got to play Essendon with a half a dozen of its best players missing and Melbourne had a massive percentage-building win, especially if it is all back to normal for Essendon by the time they play us on Anzac Day in round 5.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

If it was Collingwood our opponent would be automatically given the 4 points and we would forfeit the match. Essendon’s been treated too well by the AFL in this situation imho.

[Bucks5]

There is now some speculation that Connor's test was a false positive.

[swoop42]

I'm very happy that the Essendon side hasn't been decimated due to the positive test of McKenna but let's not pretend that Stewart hasn't been used as the sacrificial lamb to the Gods of seen to be doing the right thing.

[K]

[Donny]

Today.

"Essendon player Conor McKenna has told the ABC he has tested negative to coronavirus in his most recent test."

ABC News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-23/essendon-player-conor-mckenna-tests-negative-to-coronavirus/12385906

[K]

Hopefully he's being tested daily. If so, we'll know more from the next two tests. False negatives are common. False positives are unheard of. It'd be weird if the first reported individual with a false positive across the entire world in the last five months were Conor McKenna.

[K]

'Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there was nothing unusual about the case.

"It's a positive test. It's being treated as a confirmed positive. There are lots of people who test positive one day, they're at the very tail-end of their infection and then they test negative the following day. If you get two negative tests 24 hours apart, you as a case are clear. But your close contacts, [from] when you are potentially infectious, they have to go through their 14-day quarantine period. That will apply to Conor McKenna's contacts," Sutton said.'

(Fairfax)