AFL star Sydney Stack’s manager says the 20-year-old is “very distressed” about spending Christmas behind bars after allegedly breaching Covid-19 rules for a second time upon returning to Perth.
The Richmond player was granted an exemption to enter Western Australia from Melbourne via a connecting flight through Adelaide on December 10 to attend his grandfather’s funeral.
The brief stopover in Adelaide, where Stack said he did not leave the airport, triggered a requirement the rising star complete 14 days self-quarantine.
Police allege he instead left his approved self-isolation residence in Northam, the country town where he grew up, and stayed at an address in the southern Perth suburb of Belmont.
He was issued a move-on notice by officers in the early hours of Saturday morning in the Northbridge entertainment precinct, which led to the 20-year-old being charged over the alleged quarantine breach.
After a magistrate refused his bail application on Sunday, Stack was transferred from the Perth Watchhouse to Hakea Prison, where – under the prison’s policy – he is required to restart his 14 days quarantine in an isolated cell.
During a brief hearing in the Perth Magistrates Court on Monday, Stack’s matter was discussed in his absence, with the duty lawyer revealing Hakea Prison does not allow people in custody for Covid-related breaches to leave their cell to appear via video link.
Magistrate Jennifer Hawkins adjourned the matter until January 6, “given Mr Stack is unable to speak”.
Outside court, his manager, Paul Peos, said he was worried about Stack’s short-term health while in custody.
“It’s been very difficult to have communication and we’re very disappointed but we’ll continue to try and engage with him as best we can,” he said.
“He’s having a very difficult time but it’s the consequences of the times we’re in, these are the charges and this is what he has to do.
“He did not sound OK, he sounded very distressed and very upset.”
