South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has inserted himself into the Victorian election campaign, a week out from the poll.

Weatherill travelled to Melbourne today to lend his support to Labor leader Daniel Andrews, who is favoured to win.

The Labor pair announced an alliance to ensure shipbuilding jobs stay local should Andrews form government.

Andrews said Victoria and South Australia would not stand by and watch defence industry jobs go offshore.

“Victoria and South Australia will stand together. Our challenges are very similar,” Andrews said, in reference to the demise of the local automotive manufacturing industries in both states.

“Our objectives are exactly the same, to grow jobs, to grow opportunities.”

Weatherill estimated $520 billion of shipbuilding work will be funded by Australia over the next 30 years and he said this work needed to stay in Australia.

He said there was a danger the federal government may send submarine building jobs offshore.

“I want to build a coalition with Daniel Andrews and an incoming Labor government to work with us so we can maximise the amount of work to stay here,” he told reporters.

With Victorians set to vote on 29 November, Andrews believes the poll results will be close.

“I have never taken anything for granted in my life,” he told reporters on Friday.

“This will be a close election and we’re going to fight very hard.”

Liberal Premier Denis Napthine says the Coalition can win the election, despite the polls predicting otherwise.

He said on Friday the Coalition was behind in the polls but still won the 2010 election.

“In the lead-up to that election the Coalition never led in any of the opinion polls and we won on the election day itself, so the poll that counts is on the 29th of November,” he told reporters in Geelong.

“I am very confident we can win.”

The latest Herald Sun/Galaxy poll shows Labor leading 52-48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

The poll also suggests Labor could pick up the Liberal seats of Carrum, Frankston, Bentleigh and Mordialloc.

Asked if he was concerned about losing those seats, Napthine said every vote in every seat will count.

“This will be a tough and tight election as it was in 2010.”

There are reports former prime minister John Howard will join Napthine on the hustings next week.

“You never know who you might see on the campaign trail,” Napthine said.

He said Prime Minister Tony Abbott had been in Victoria a number of times during the campaign.

– with AAP