Sydney Stack’s manager concedes the young Richmond player’s AFL career hangs in the balance after his COVID-19 protocol breach on the Gold Coast.
Stack, 20, and teammate Callum Coleman-Jones, 21, have been sent home from Queensland after being involved in a drunken fight early on Friday morning.
They were both suspended for 10 matches by the AFL and the Tigers fined $100,000 for a second breach by members of their club travel bubble.
Stack, who was recruited by Richmond as a project player in early 2019 after being overlooked by every club at the draft, is contracted for next season.
But AFL playing lists will almost certainly be trimmed for 2021 as part of drastic league-wide cost-cutting measures and manager Paul Peos conceded his client’s indiscretion will harm his chances of staying with the Tigers.
“Any player that really has got any doubt is going to have a harder conversation to have,” Peos told ABC Perth on Saturday.
“Clubs have been able to persist in development to some degree and persist a bit with character to some degree when you’ve got 44 on your list.
“But if you’ve got a restricted number and you really need the majority of those boys being able to play in any given year, you need to take a group that’s going to be there for you and available for you (consistently).”
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale initially said Stack and Coleman-Jones would be made to pay the $75,000 portion of the club’s fine directly resulting from their breach.
However, the AFL Players Association was quick to point out on Friday the code of conduct it struck with the AFL prevents clubs from adding extra penalties on top of the league’s sanctions.
“There’s a bit to play out still on that end but it’s pretty clear that the player is not responsible in relation to the fines part of it on the basis that they accept whatever sanctions are set down to them (by the AFL),” Peos said.
“I’m sure the PA and Richmond and the AFL will be able to work through that part of it.
“The simple answer is a second-year player that had to play on half his money anyway (because of pay cuts agreed to in March) can’t afford $37,500 or $75,000 or $100,000 fine.
“That’s why it’s with the club.”
Peos said Stack is “certainly aware of the significance and the repercussions of his actions”.
The 26-game Tiger returned to Melbourne on Saturday but has limited support around him, with Victoria under strict lockdown restrictions.
The longer-term plan is to get Stack back to Western Australia, his home state.
That has not yet been possible in the short time frame since his transgression, given WA’s tight border controls.