Change is undoubtedly on the horizon, but West Coast Eagles general manager of football Craig Vozzo hopes that clubs will still have the capacity to deliver polished football programs and adequate wellbeing support to their players once the COVID-19 pandemic passes.

Speaking to 6PR’s Sportsday WA program last night, Vozzo said that it would be a shame if clubs had to sacrifice their investment in performance and welfare as a result of tightened purse strings.

“We understand that changes need to be made and we need to be responsible with our spending across the industry, but what we also really need to be careful of is that we’ve got an outstanding product that has gone really well for a long period of time in this country,” Vozzo said.

“It’s the leading sport (in Australia) and we want to keep it that way.

“The second piece is looking after the health and wellbeing of our players. That really is a big team effort and it is part of the reason of the (AFL’s) success. That needs to be staffed.

“We want to make sure that we are fiscally responsible, but we want to do it in a way that doesn’t come at the cost of the product or the health and wellbeing of the players, in particular, and the staff as well.”

Vozzo confirmed West Coast was operating with a skeleton staff at present.

He said apart from senior coach Adam Simpson, head of development Gavin Bell, head of strength and conditioning Warren Kofoed, some administrative staff and himself, the rest of the football department were on standby waiting for the resumption of season 2020.

When queried about how he was coping in this time of uncertainty, Vozzo said it was the club’s players and staff that were front of mind for him.

“I’m more concerned about our players and our staff during this period,” he said.

“It’s just a really tough period for all. There’s a lot of uncertainty in terms of short and long term future with where the game is heading and where the game is heading at the moment, particularly with our staff.

“I’m more concerned for them and trying to get as many people through this as we can.”