North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell is embracing the fast-moving developments of this unique AFL campaign and says footballers need to do their bit to keep the season going.
Ziebell - who will miss Saturday's clash against the Western Bulldogs due to a hamstring injury - was one of a number of AFL footballers and staff living in Victoria's COVID-19 'hotspot' postcodes who were forced to find temporary accommodation on Wednesday.
The Roos organised for him and teammates Jy Simpkin, Mason Wood and Paul Ahern to move into an Airbnb rental before a likely relocation to a Sydney quarantine hub next week.
Ziebell's girlfriend, Shannon, is also staying with them.
The NSW Government banned Victorians from those particular postcodes from entering the state but they had until midnight last night to ensure they wouldn't be locked out.
"The circumstances, as we all know, are changing rapidly, and that meant for a few people yesterday afternoon we had to move house, so it is what it is," Ziebell told RSN radio.
"We got here last night at 6.30, so we all just jumped on Uber Eats – we were pretty excited about a few menus, to be honest.
"We'll head to the shops today and we'll organise who's going to do what chores around the house."
Ziebell was confident all of his North Melbourne teammates would move into an interstate hub set-up and said the younger players, in particular, were excited at the prospect.
"Our club's been fantastic in providing resources for anyone who needs them, whether that be family or different circumstances that each player finds themselves in," he said.
"The club's already working through those options with each player but I think the AFL is pretty keen that, if you need to, your family can come.
"Most of our guys would be happy to do their time in a hub, and I know a lot of our guys would be excited to go as well … because in the current training format, you actually don't get to see too many of your teammates.
"You're stuck in small groups, essentially in quarantine at the club … so to get away in a hub all together would change that dynamic a bit, and that would be a positive."
The Kangaroos face the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night and will try to avoid three straight losses, after underwhelming performances against Sydney and Hawthorn.
While Ziebell will miss the game, star midfielder Ben Cunnington (back) is in line to return after missing the past two games.
The disappointing fortnight is a little bit frustrating, to be honest, because we know we're capable of playing a lot better football than we've produced the last couple of weeks," Ziebell said.
"Our first performance after the break we had, up in Sydney, against the Giants (in round two), we thought was really good, to be able to put four quarters of football together.
"Since then, we've probably played only two, two-and-a-half quarters of football that we think we're capable of, so bringing that out on a consistent basis is our challenge at the moment."
