The Newcastle Jets' trip to Melbourne for a must-win clash with City proved short-lived after Victoria were plunged into a five-day lockdown on Friday.
Newcastle's W-League team left Newcastle bound for Melbourne Airport at midday only to arrive to find Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews had announced around 1pm that the state would be put into a lockdown from midnight Friday after a spate of new coronavirus cases.
Thirteen COVID-19 cases had been linked to the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport by Friday morning, with hundreds of close contacts in isolation.
The Jets were scheduled to play the defending champions in a crucial round-eight clash at CB Smith Reserve on Saturday but instead were headed back to Sydney on Friday afternoon. The match has been postponed.
Jets co-captain Cassidy Davis told the Newcastle Herald from Melbourne Airport the team were happy to have been able to secure return flights at such short notice.
"We got to Melbourne, checked our phones and there it was - lockdown. That's pretty much how it went," Davis said.
"It was a bit of a scramble, but we booked two different flights to fit everyone in half an hour apart, back to Sydney then bus back to Newcastle.
"We've been told from day one it's a strange couple of years and it's just about adapting to it and it's no effect on our football. It's just going to be whatever happens, happens.
"We're just glad to be heading back. This is the best case. We're obviously disappointed about the game but if we're getting back safe then that's the main thing."
The postponement of the Jets-City match was another change to the ever-evolving W-League fixtures updates this season. Perth have played just three games in seven rounds due to recent lockdowns in Western Australia.
Glory's last game was on January 24 but they are set to play Western Sydney at Marconi Stadium next Thursday night in a fixture update announced on Friday.
Jets coach Ash Wilson said they were prepared for a season like no other going into this campaign.
"It is what it is but credit to the league and the club for working pretty hard in the background to make sure that we got home," Wilson said from Melbourne Airport on Friday. "The main thing is we're not going to be stuck here.
"We've definitely had to be pretty flexible and FA [Football Australia] have done everything in their powers to ensure that as many games are going ahead as possible and they've got contingency plans in place and they work well in the background to make sure teams don't get stuck.
"From our perspective, it is disappointing that we don't get to play and it is a bit of an inconvenience to get into Melbourne and have to turn around and come back, but that's been the reality and the nature of this season and you can't really stress too much about it at the end of the day. We'll just keep moving forward and see what happens as a result of this."
The Jets, who are sixth with four points, are scheduled to host fourth-placed Melbourne Victory (10 points) at No.2 Sportsground on February 20.
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