Melbourne confirmed the news in a club statement on Thursday, stating that "it is expected that players and staff will be cleared" in time for the Demons' Friday night clash against the Western Bulldogs, pending negative test results.<\/p>\n
"Given it is late in the week the club is confident there will be little disruption to its Round 11 preparations," the Demons statement read.<\/p>\n
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan stated that the player testing positive would have "serious implications" on Melbourne's clash against the Bulldogs, but said the league was confident about the outcome of the test.<\/p>\n
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"I have a level of comfort that he was just in a tier one spot but they don't think the risk is huge and he's also been separated from the training group," he said. "I feel optimistic that'll go the right way and we'll know this afternoon."<\/p>\n
According to The Age, the player who visited the tier one exposure site had been in rehab and therefore had limited contact with the rest of the Demons' playing group.<\/p>\n
News of the Melbourne player's exposure comes after the AFL was left scrambling following the announcement of another lockdown<\/a> in Victoria.<\/p>\n Three AFL matches will be played in Victoria this weekend, but will be done so with no crowds in attendance, including at the blockbuster Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs clash.<\/p>\n Melbourne's opponents were also forced into isolation earlier in the week after a Bulldogs staffer had been present at an exposure site<\/a>.<\/p>\n