WA Premier Mark McGowan has expressed confidence that the Fifth Ashes Test and entire summer of sport can fit into the state’s COVID roadmap despite the border remaining closed for several months.

Mr McGowan today announced WA would open up in late January or early February, once the state is estimated to reach 90 per cent double-dose vaccination. That exact date will be confirmed next month.

Leaving borders closed leaves the Fifth Test as well as the Big Bash, basketball, soccer and AFLW seasons facing the challenge of meeting quarantine requirements, given most lead-in games take place before players could be in WA for at least seven days.

SCROLL DOWN FOR REACTION AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR EACH SPORTING CODE

While he wouldn’t disclose any clear plans for the summer of sport, McGowan said he was confident it could continue.

“Over the last two years, police and health have put in place rules that require various forms of quarantine and bubbles for sporting teams coming from elsewhere,” McGowan said.

“We’ve done it consistently and allowed all the sporting codes to operate in a COVID-safe way and we have not had a single outbreak. Those sorts of measures have been put in place before and I’m sure we can manage it again.”

MORE: AFL fixture set for return to ‘normal’ with no WA quarantine

The Fifth Ashes Test is due to start on January 14 and the players may not finish the Fourth Test in Sydney until January 9.

It is understood negotiations around restrictions for the players revolve around the fact that it will be the final game of the series, removing some of the roadblocks around leaving WA for other matches afterwards.

But Mr McGowan remained tight-lipped when pressed for more details.

“I understand the police and the health officials are working with Cricket Australia on all of those matters,” he said.

“We’ve conducted sport for the last two years – whether it’s both types of football, whether it’s cricket, whether it’s basketball, whether it’s netball. All of those things have happened over the course of the last two years subject to rules and bubbles. That’s something that will be worked on jointly and I’m very confident there will be a good outcome reached.

“We held the AFL grand final – the best one I think in history recently in Western Australia because we were kept safe. We did it with good COVID rules. I’m sure we’ll be able to hold further sporting events.”

CRICKET

WACA chairman Terry Waldron remains confident that the fifth Ashes Test will go ahead as scheduled despite the likelihood that quarantine restrictions will still be in place in January.

“The vibe is very good,” Waldron said.

“The fifth Ashes Test is looking very positive and certainly more so than a couple of weeks ago.

“I know the State Government is very keen to have the Test match here and I would hope there would be something clear on this in the next week or 10 days.”

The fate of the Test match may depend on Cricket Australia and the England players agreeing to quarantine restrictions required for the last leg of the Ashes tour.

It is possible that players and officials will be restricted to their hotel and ground with transport between the locations operating through a sterile corridor such as those used during the AFL season.

The fifth Test is likely to be moved to Hobart should Perth not be able to host it, giving Tasmania their first Ashes match and a significant substitute for the Afghanistan Test which was postponed officially on Friday.

While Afghanistan was allowed to partake in the T20 World Cup, the beleaguered nation is likely to be banned from international cricket if the Taliban government prohibits women from playing the sport.

Waldron confirmed WA Cricket are discussing different models with Cricket Australia and the State Government about hosting Perth Scorchers matches at Optus Stadium “safely” like last summer’s five-game home stretch.

“The management at the WA Cricket are constantly talking with Cricket Australia and the Government on the Big Bash,” Waldron said.

“We held the Big Bash successfully last year in a similar climate and we think we can show how to do it safely and that’s what we’re pursuing at this moment.

“We’ve always got to temper it because you never know what could happen, I noticed there were a couple of cases in the Northern Territory so you never know what’s going to happen to throw a spanner in the works.

“We put some options and are talking about different models that could see us host Big Bash safely here in WA.

“Obviously it’s different to AFL which is weekly a basis whereas our team is a night-after-night type thing.

“I was pretty despondent a week or so ago but I’m a bit more hopeful that we may be able to get some more Big Bash here.”

Meanwhile, three Ashes warm-up matches will be played in Brisbane in the coming weeks to help both teams prepare for the series.

England players not involved in the World Cup will arrive in Queensland this weekend.

Australia will select an Ashes squad next week with a three-day game to be played in Brisbane from December 1 while England and England Lions players will use two three-dayers to prepare for the first Test.

CA has also rescheduled several State matches with WA to take on Tasmania at Blundstone Arena in a Sheffield Shield-Marsh Cup double-header this month.

BASKETBALL

Perth Wildcats officials are working through what the announcement means for their early fixtures given the NBL season starts on December 3.

The Wildcats are scheduled to play seven of their first nine games at home, with interstate matches in Adelaide and Brisbane during that time. Their first game in NSW is on January 30.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said the league would make changes when needed during the season.

“We are constantly monitoring and adapting to border closures and openings around the country and in New Zealand,” he said.

“As we’ve consistently said, we have the flexibility and demonstrated capacity, based on last season, to change the schedule if required to adapt to changes in circumstances when they arise.

“Separately, we urge the people of Western Australia get vaccinated as soon as practical, to ensure all sporting competitions can operate freely and fans can continue to see their teams in action.”

The WNBL is already preparing a revised fixture given the impact of the border announcement on the Perth Lynx. But it is likely they will be forced interstate.

“We will work with the recently announced WA road map and produce an updated fixture accordingly which may involve keeping Perth on the road for an extended period of time,” WNBL’s Executive General Manager Paul Maley said.

SOCCER

Perth Glory’s nightmare opening to the A-League season could get even worse with three crucial home games in jeopardy and the possibility of being forced to play 12 of their first 13 games interstate.

They are scheduled to play Wellington Phoenix, Newcastle Jets and Macarthur Bulls on consecutive weekends starting on January 15 at HBF Park. If those games have to be rescheduled, Glory’s whole campaign could be on a knife edge, with the club already facing a horror start with nine games from 10 away from home.

They are hoping for some relief with the three January fixtures, but chief executive Tony Pignata said: “If we can’t get those games at home it will really hurt us.

“We need to speak to WA Police and see just what we can do for those games. How do we get those teams here, do they have to quarantine, can they fly in and out?

“Hopefully we’ll know late December what it’s looking like. It’s up to WA people to go and get vaccinated so we can try and open up earlier.”

AFLW

Fremantle and West Coast look likely to be forced on the road in the early stages of the AFLW season.

While an AFLW fixture is yet to be released, the competition is scheduled to start on January 6, meaning our clubs will be unable to host matches or travel interstate given the quarantine requirements they will face on return.

Western Australia’s border is currently open to South Australia and Queensland meaning both clubs could play the three teams based across the two states to bank early results.

But the premier has already stated he’d close the border again if community transmission occurred as both jurisdictions prepare to reopen before Christmas.

At best, the Eagles and Dockers could face off in a round one derby before hitting the road for the next few weeks until unrestricted travel returns.

The situation is far from ideal for both clubs given the part-time nature of the competition and the fact most players have full-time jobs beyond their football commitments.

Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick said the club would work with players’ employers to minimise any disruption.

“We will continue to work with the AFL on a fixture outcome that minimises their time away from home,” he said.

“Our AFLW players have been kept well informed over the past month regarding possible scenarios for their 2022 season.

“The players and coaches have an incredibly strong and positive mindset and are really excited about the season ahead.

“In terms of the AFL fixture for 2022, if we as a state can hit the vaccination targets announced by the Premier today that should provide us with a good opportunity to run the AFL season unimpeded.”

West Coast senior coach Michael Prior said was confident a season would be completed.

“I think things are only going to get better with the vaccination rates, if they keep going up. Other sports have shown it can be done,” he told Sportsday WA.

“I think we’re on a good path to get a season underway we’re just waiting to hear what that looks like.”

When contacted, the AFL said they would look to navigate the season as they’ve done previously, led by respective state governments and health officials, but the health and safety of the community remained a priority.

The AFL season is set to go ahead without COVID interruptions in Perth after fears both WA clubs wouldn’t be able to host games when the season begins in March.

But those fears are now gone, paving the way for the AFL to finally produce a fixture that will be devoid of quarantine for teams that are travelling to Perth.

Fremantle recruit Will Brodie said it was an exciting prospect to play in front of 60,000 fans at Optus Stadium next season.

“It’s pretty exciting and the government are going to do the best they can to make sure the health and safety of the community are in the right hand,” Brodie said.

“As long as everyone starts to get vaccinated and we do everything right, there’s no reason why we can’t so it’s super exciting. The future is there that we can start to have big crowds and fans at footy again which is awesome.”

Brodie hoped the entire AFL community would embrace the vaccination mandate, allowing the competition to return to a version of normal.

“I can’t speak for every player. It’s their personal choice but for me personally, I’m already fully vaccinated and I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t want to go that way,” he said.

RUGBY UNION

Western Force chief executive Tony Lewis said he was “deflated” by the announcement.

The Force are expected to start their Super Rugby Pacific season with the grudge match against Melbourne Rebels on February 19 at HBF Park. However, a pre-season trial planned for February 5 against Queensland Reds in Geraldton could be in doubt.

It is understood the Force are already in discussions with the South Australian government about taking games interstate if restrictions are not lifted.

“We have to plan for the worst case scenario,” Lewis said. “We are a bit deflated because there is no clear roadmap on how professional sport is going to be able to have teams coming into the state.

“We don’t have clear roadmaps, clear guidelines, on how we are going to put on events that are for the whole state. We want to be able to head into our season knowing how it can happen.

“What is the government plan to get us to 90 per cent double-dose vaccination rate?

“We support the government that has done a magnificent job thus far but as a professional sports team we are extremely worried because chucking out an arbitrary figure doesn’t help us.

“All WA sporting teams are trying to work together with the government and police to ensure professional sport can take place.

There must be an aligned model for everyone to get state and international teams in and out of our state.”

NETBALL

West Coast Fever’s season will likely go unaffected should everything go as planned with the Super Netball season set to start on Saturday, March 26.

It means Fever could get their full seven home games, having played just four in the past two seasons at RAC Arena.

More to come