MELBOURNE’S Round 20 clash with Gold Coast was never set to be ‘normal’.

From midday on Thursday, a harsh set of rules were inflicted on the Demons’ players, coaches and staff: they could only leave their house to get one of two COVID-19 tests, and to train on Friday afternoon.

Add two nights of hotel quarantine at the Sofitel for many, it certainly wasn’t the usual preparation.

But come Saturday morning, everything was back on track.

It was game day, and the Dees arrived at the Melbourne Jet Base, ready for their 9am charter flight to Gold Coast.

Stocked with snacks and fashioning their new club masks, the Demons boarded plane VA9009 and began their preparations for the match ahead.

With one row per person and a two-hour journey on the horizon, naps were a common way to pass the time.

But when the captain turned on the seat belt sign a little prematurely, the passengers became aware that something wasn’t quite right.

The following announcement alerted all on-board that a COVID-19 outbreak had hit Queensland and a state-wide lockdown looked probable.

At this point, there were concerns that the scheduled match could be affected.

The next message from the pilot revealed a destination change, with the Virgin Australia flight now redirected to Brisbane Airport.

Given this was further away from Metricon Stadium, it became somewhat obvious that any hopes of a game being played had dissipated.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, the Dees were booked in to fly to Perth on Saturday night, to complete a week of hotel quarantine before facing West Coast.

As the plane began its decent, whispers circulated, and the afternoon’s proceedings started to take shape.

The stop off at Brisbane was going to be for a refuel, change of flight attendants, and a delivery of food, before the team would make the trip across the country and land in Western Australia.

But upon arrival in Queensland, the uncertainty heightened.

Phones were going off as family, friends and journos back home were desperate for the inside mail – unfortunately, there wasn’t much mail to give.

The messaging suggested everyone would be let off the plane for two hours, then reboard and head to Perth.

That didn’t happen.

Biding some time before a concrete announcement, many sourced entertainment through Twitter, where people afar seemed to think they knew what was happening before the pilot himself.

Eventually, the club’s fate was confirmed: the plane would disembark at 2pm and venture back to Melbourne.

So, for the best part of three hours, the Demons were to remain onboard the aircraft and enjoy the scenic views of the Brisbane tarmac.

An impromptu coffee cart in row 30 caused temporary joy, but food remained scarce.

The Olympics proved a handy distraction, although the 7Plus delay caused a couple of unfortunate spoilers, and the front door was opened to let some fresh air in.

All was running smoothly, or as smooth as you could hope, until one more update sent a shiver through the plane.

“This is your captain speaking. We’ve had a change of plans. We will now be heading to Canberra to refuel before flying to Perth.”

There was a brief moment of silence and a couple of gasps, before a collective realisation – that voice had a familiar twang.

Christian Petracca had made his way into the cockpit, pulling off an almighty prank on his teammates.

From that point on, the luck began to change.

Crackers emerged, pokey bowls were served, and the plane took off for the second leg of its adventure.

Touching back down in Melbourne at 4:30pm, an eight-hour trip was complete, albeit, without a whole lot being achieved.

The players disembarked quickly and travelled back home, because of course, there is a rescheduled game to prepare for: Round 20, 2.0.