Sydney teenager Elijah Taylor will remain in the AFL club’s travel bubble for the foreseeable future despite being suspended for the rest of the season.
Taylor was banned for breaching the AFL’s return-to-play protocols and Western Australia’s quarantine restrictions, after his partner entered the Swans’ quarantine hub accommodation in Perth when she was not authorised to do so.
The club was fined $50,000 for the breach, with half suspended, and $25,000 will be included in their 2021 soft cap.
Sydney chief executive Tom Harley said on Sunday the club will continue to support Taylor.
“Our situation is probably two-fold,” Harley told ABC radio.
“There’s absolute condemnation and making sure that Elijah’s aware of what’s happened.
“On the same side he is a 19-year-old first-year player who is – like all players and staff and the community – living in pretty challenging times at the minute.
“We absolutely don’t let Elijah off the hook but make sure that the support mechanism is there for him.
“He’s extremely remorseful and it is a lesson to everyone, if ever we needed another one, of the privileged position that we are in to keep the game going.”
Sydney are scheduled to play against Fremantle on Saturday night and Harley said there was never any doubt the round 13 clash would go ahead as planned.
He said Taylor had limited contact with teammates and all had since tested negative to COVID-19 under the usual protocols.
Harley said the Swans had not been involved in determining Taylor’s penalty, which was left to the AFL and AFL Players Association.
“Elijah knew exactly what he was doing, it was intentional, and the actual consequence of Elijah’s behaviour was extremely high,” Harley said.
“The AFL have been afforded this unbelievable social licence to play the game.
“With those two factors in mind, the AFL worked through with the AFL Players Association the appropriate level of sanction.”
Sydney will remain based in their hub in Joondalup, in Perth’s northern suburbs, until returning to Queensland after the Fremantle match.
