AFL players and officials arrived at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday morning for mass COVID-19 testing ahead of the AFL season relaunch.
All players and officials will undergo swab testing, with the drive-through facility in the underground car park to run for 10 hours on Wednesday as all nine Melbourne clubs begin testing over the next three days. Non-Victorian sides and Geelong will test at their own locations.
Essendon players were among the first to arrive, with Devon Smith telling AFL Media it "wasn't fun".
"It was pretty quick - [it] wasn't that fun but [I] got it done," he said.
"Hopefully we can get the results back [soon], everyone's cleared and then we can get back into it.
"[We are] finally getting there, there's been a lot of setbacks and don't want to build it up too much but I'm pretty excited."
AFL players are expected to be told of the strict protocols around social gatherings and will have a better understanding of what to expect of the season restart when they meet with AFL Players Association boss Paul Marsh on Wednesday.
Smith told media he was happy to live under restrictions if it meant the season could restart.
"It is what it is. I think it's a small sacrifice for us and if it gets the game going quicker then it's good," Smith said.