The ALF has cancelled two Opening Round matches that were set to be held in South East Queensland due to the threat posed by Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The Brisbane Lions were set to play Geelong in the season opener at the Gabba on Thursday night, with the Gold Coast Suns hosting Essendon at the People First Stadium on Saturday.
However both matches have now been cancelled, with the fixtures to be rescheduled at a later date.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said the decision had been made out of an abundance of caution following discussions with the state government, the Bureau of Meteorology and Stadiums Queensland.
“The priority is that we do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of everyone in and around any potential cyclone zone or community impacted by the forecast heavy rains and storm surges,” Mr Andrew Dillon said.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred, now a category two weather event, is expected to move towards the coastline from Tuesday at a pace of 13 kilometres an hour, with the risk of power being down for at least three days.
The storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday, and Mr Dillon said he did not want the two AFL matches to distract residents from preparing.
“We hope this weather event doesn’t eventuate, but we know everyone needs to prepare accordingly and we don’t want our games to be a distraction to those preparations,” he said.
The AFL CEO said the league had decided to make the decision now to “give clubs and fans certainty in an uncertain environment and allow anyone from Queensland who would normally be involved in this game… to be home with their families and available in the community if required”.
The comments come just one day after Mr Dillon said he did not want to make a call until he was “absolutely 100 per cent confident about what’s going to happen”.
However, both Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan and Geelong coach Chris Scott urged the league to make a decision sooner.
Speaking to media at a training session at the Gabba earlier on Tuesday, Mr Fagan urged the AFL to put the players’ safety first and postpone the game.
“I’m a people first person,” the Brisbane Lions coach said.
“It’s not a tropical thunderstorm, it’s a cyclone. I have never been in one, so I don’t know what to expect. But I’ve seen the carnage they’ve caused at different periods in Australian history.
“I’m not too keen on the idea of things going ahead if it’s going to be like that. It can’t, can it?
“The sooner the decision’s made, the better.”
Mr Scott also raised his concerns about his team “flying into the eye of a cyclone”.
“We do need to know, we have some players that are scheduled to get on a plane this afternoon, so we probably need some guidance,” the Geelong coach told SEN radio on Tuesday morning.
“Even in principle, the idea of getting on a plane and flying into the eye of a cyclone doesn’t sound like a great idea.
“If they (AFL) ask us to do something we feel is inappropriate, then we will make that known at the time, but we are a long way from that position now.”
The AFL did not reveal when the Opening Round games would be rescheduled, but Mr Fagan said the ideal date for the match would be round three, when the Cats and Brisbane both have a bye.
