HAWTHORN recruit Conor Glass says he doesn’t yet know if he’ll be able to join the majority of the rest of the Irish contingent coming back home after the AFL was suspended until at least the end of May.
The season had begun behind closed doors at the weekend but the decision to shut the league down was made at half-time in Hawthorn's win over Brisbane, which was completed.
The Glen clubman has a flight booked home for Saturday but is unsure whether the plane will ever get off the ground.
Australia has closed off its borders to incoming visitors and banned domestic air travel, but essential travel is still permitted.
The Derry man, who joined Melbourne-based Hawthorn in 2016, lives with team-mate Conor Nash, who has made the decision to stay in Australia during the hiatus.
Glass considered doing likewise before changing his mind at the beginning of the week, although he was almost perturbed by the cost of some flights out costing as much as $10,000 (£5,000) one-way.
“A lot of the guys flew home tonight. I was a day behind them in terms of booking the flights,” Glass told The Irish News.
“My head was fried today. I was planning on coming home [last night or today], but flights are either packed or cancelled.
“A lot of the routes would take 36 hours. I got a flight for Saturday and hopefully Etihad are still running them, or I’m pretty screwed to be honest.”
He will join the likes of fellow Derry man Anton Tohill and Essendon’s Tyrone man Conor McKenna back at home. McKenna had been home early in the year for an extended break after continuing to suffer with homesickness.
Clubs have agreed with the AFL that players will take a 50 per cent pay cut during the break.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlann has described the danger to the AFL as “the biggest financial crisis in our history”.
* See tomorrow's Irish News for full interview with Conor Glass
