Showdown is booked for Adelaide Oval on June 13, as AFL releases fixture

The Crows and Port Adelaide will go head to head at Adelaide Oval in Round 2, as the AFL releases the first part of its revised 2020 fixture.

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South Australia’s AFL clubs will battle it out in a Saturday night Showdown at Adelaide Oval on June 13.

The AFL will release the first part of its revised 2020 fixture list on Monday, including the Port Adelaide and Adelaide clash.

It will be Port Adelaide’s home game and, in its 150th year, could be the one in which the famous prison bars guernsey are worn.

Port Adelaide’s Tom Jonas and Adelaide Crows’ Rory Sloane at Adelaide Oval in April. Picture: Sarah Reed

The game follows weeks of negotiations between the AFL, the State Government and the two clubs.

Premier Steven Marshall has ruled out relaxing border controls to accommodate future AFL matches in Adelaide this season.

It also comes as the Crows and Power returned to full-contact training on Monday.

Collingwood will play Richmond in a Thursday night match, and Geelong will face Hawthorn in Friday night prime-time clash when football returns for Round 2, starting June 11.

The Advertiser can also reveal thousands of footy fans may also be able to watch the AFL Grand Final live at the MCG. Those plans involve using careful seat allocation, temperature screening on arrival and staggered entry and exit times.

It is hoped crowd numbers will be gradually ramped up from 5000 to 15,000, and as many as 30,000 for the Grand Final on October 24. The MCG would be best placed to welcome fans at games due to the considerable space in and around the home of football.

Before Sunday’s ­ann­ounce­ment, the AFL’s advice to clubs had been that it was unlikely fans would be allowed in all year.

Port players have been looking forward to a return to full-contact training.

Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas with teammates Tom Rockliff and Travis Boak with Jackson Mead and Mitchell Georgiades. Picture: Sarah Reed

For weeks they have only been allowed to train with one other person, and even when they returned to the club last week they could only train in groups of up to 10.

“I’m excited about that,” Power skipper Tom Jonas said. “It will be really exciting to just hit some bodies and wake up with that soreness on Tuesday. There’ll be no holding back.”

AFL Umpires Association boss Rob Kerr said the umpires were desperate to help the season get under way, with many offering to subject themselves to 14 days of isolation in Adelaide to help stage a Showdown.