North Melbourne‘s pre-season has received a major boost with rugged midfielder Jed Anderson finally returning to the club having received his second COVID-19 vaccination.
Anderson had been one of two vaccine-hesitant players to grab headlines over the summer – the other being West Coast’s Jack Darling – after having an adverse reaction to his first COVID-19 shot last year.
After the Northern Territory native arrived in Melbourne earlier this week following a lengthy stay in his home state, his return to the club was confirmed via a statement.
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“North Melbourne Kangaroos midfielder Jed Anderson has joined his teammates at training on Wednesday after complying with the AFL’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols,” the statement read.
“The club will not be making any further comment at this time.”
The 28-year-old had previously sought a medical exemption from the AFL with his application based around his reaction to the first COVID-19 jab, according to The Age.
While Anderson’s return ends one of the AFL’s big vaccination headaches, the other has no apparent ending in sight.
West Coast powerbrokers are expected to hold a crunch meeting today to discuss the future of Darling, who has not had either the first nor second COVID-19 vaccination.
Darling has been away from the club since January 21 after failing to have his first dose before the AFL’s mandatory vaccination deadline. Per the league’s rules, all players and football staff are required to have been fully vaccinated by February 21.
The 29-year-old’s teammate Dom Sheed admitted this week that it was “hard to support his decision”, but said Darling had his teammates’ support “as an individual”.
“That is his personal decision. He is working through some things at the moment … the players support him and reach out to him where possible. I wouldn’t say we’re disappointed; it’s his choice,” Sheed said.
“It’s his decision … everybody has got a decision whether they want to get the vaccine or not and he has decided not to so I don’t think we can be disappointed in that. We support him and what he wants to do. It’s hard to support his decision, but we support him as an individual.”