AFL close to releasing first month of matches for 2020 season resumption

Changes to SA border restrictions threatened to scramble the AFL’s 2020 fixture, but they may have hit on a solution that gives clubs and fans certainty over who they will play when footy restarts.

Giants Scott Lycett and Reilly O’Brien could ruck against each other from the comforts of home. Picture: Getty Images

The AFL will push ahead with a fixture release of the first month of a restarted season despite indications South Australian teams might be allowed to play fly-in fly-out football by mid-June.

AFL fixture boss Travis Auld is set to release a four-round block of games by Monday with Richmond-Collingwood a certainty to open the restart on Thursday, June 11.

The Herald Sun also understands the Showdown will be scheduled for Round 2.

The South Australian teams believe his push for a Round 2 Showdown was done to allow him more time to ease border restrictions by mid-June.

That development would mean Adelaide and Port Adelaide could avoid hubs altogether.

The two sides are set to be based on the Gold Coast due to SA border restrictions.

Scheduling a blockbuster Power v Crows game on the weekend of June 11-14 means they would not have to leave the state until June 20 for Round 3 clashes in southeast Queensland.

The AFL is adamant it will forge ahead with the fixture release despite uncertainty about where Adelaide and Port Adelaide will be housed at that time.

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The AFL is set to announce the first instalment of the 2020 fixture within days. Picture: Michael Klein

It has told clubs it will give them certainty about who they are playing and where so they can plan for the month of football ahead.

From Round 3 the league could schedule the SA sides in clashes against teams also housed in Queensland — West Coast, Fremantle, Brisbane and Gold Coast.

If 14-day quarantine periods for people entering South Australia are lifted, Port Adelaide and Adelaide could stay in their home state and fly to Queensland to play those games early in the season.

It would give the fixture certainty and allow them more games at Adelaide Oval in the back-end of the year.

Port Adelaide would be more than happy with that compromise given it would avoid the need for players to be in hubs at all.

As much as the club has publicly been supportive of the hub concept there are players with young families still extremely resistant to the idea of high-performance villages.

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The AFL continues to push the message about agility in its fixture, so conceivably could even alter the venues of games for South Australian teams if they don’t need to move to a Gold Coast hub.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said a letter written to authorities last Thursday had helped convince them to ease training restrictions.

“We were confident that the South Australian Government understood what we were trying to achieve,” he said.

“They weren’t in a position to fully satisfy themselves that all of the protocols were in place so we simply went back to the transition committee and said, ‘OK, let us understand this better’, and I’m really pleased that they have, with their huge agenda, found it possible to circle back around, look at our needs and I think sort of accept that we are willing to do whatever is required to get this right.”

Stars Rory Sloane and Travis Boak could square off on Adelaide Oval. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

It is understood the decision will save the AFL more than $1 million alone in fees for the Mercure Gold Coast and also set up a potential blockbuster start to Round 2.

Richmond v Collingwood is all but locked in for Thursday June 11, and the AFL could hand the two South Australian clubs a rare Friday night blockbuster to restart the season in style.

Marshall said on Tuesday it made sense to schedule a Showdown in Round 2 to give the AFL more time to keep the clubs instate.

“I am hoping it can. It’s a very logical fixture. I have spoken to the AFL about that possibility but they are the ones who do the fixture,” he said.

“Could you imagine it? Port and Crows, it would give them another week in South Australia and it would keep them in South Australia a lot longer.”

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West Coast and Fremantle have been allowed to begin full training in Perth from next Monday but will fly to Gold Coast hubs before Round 2 given no prospect of border restrictions easing in that state.

It means premiership contender West Coast remains at a huge disadvantage over its other flag rivals given it could be in a hub for up to half the season.

Originally published as AFL close to releasing first month of matches for 2020 season resumption