AFLW Lions and Bulldogs hit by COVID-19

The AFLW has been forced into fixture changes of late after a large number of players from the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions were killed by COVID-19.

Brisbane were due to take on Carlton on Saturday, with the Bulldogs originally set to take on Geelong on the same day.

Geelong will now host Carlton at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night, with the AFL set to fix the clash between the Lions and the Bulldogs when it is safe and practical to do so.

Under the AFLW's COVID rules, a team must have at least 16 of its 30 primary-listed players and five train-on players available for selection in order for the match to proceed.

The fact that a match between the Bulldogs and the Lions cannot be scheduled means that the clubs have been devastated by COVID-19.

Earlier this week it was reported that Bulldogs were battling a major outbreak.

Ahead of the season, new Lions captain Brenna Koenen spoke about the challenge of surviving COVID-19.

"I am a monk at the moment, just clinging to myself and my family and my friends and the people I know who are doing the right thing," she said.

“It is very stressful and everyone is a little worried at the moment, but we are doing everything we can to stay fit and healthy and isolate as much as we can.

"But we all work, we all have jobs. You can only control what you can control."

The second round of the AFLW season began on Friday with Richmond hosting Melbourne at the Swinburne Center at the Punt Road Oval.

Both teams, who won the first round, were forced to make changes as players were sidelined through the AFL's 'COVID-19 protocol'.

The Demons confirmed that Shelley Heath, Shelley Scott, Maddie Gay, Casey Sheriff, Sarah Lampard, Maeve Chaplin and Tahlia Gillard were unavailable for selection.

Scott, Gay, Lampard, Heath and Sheriff all played in one round.

Gabby Colvin, Sinead Goldrick, Eliza McNamara and Lauren Magee return after missing the first round via COVID-19 protocol.

Richmond had a refusal to recruit defenders Sarah D'Arcy, Livewire Tayla Stahl and Maddie Shevlin.

The trio is joined by Amelia Yasir (concussion) and Poppy Kelly (knee).

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