The South Australian clubs arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday night where every AFL club is now located after lockdowns forced their exits from Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.

The AFL opted to move the Crows and Power out of Adelaide on Wednesday despite the State Government not calling a lockdown after recording five new local COVID-19 cases.

Port’s clash with Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium on Saturday will go ahead as planned, but a new venue may need to be found for the Crows’ clash with the Lions scheduled for the Adelaide Oval.

Crows CEO Tim Silvers said community health and wellbeing “remains at the forefront” of the club’s decision-making, noting that South Australia has shown it can host games during the pandemic.

“I would like to assure fans that we may still play our home game against Brisbane at Adelaide Oval as planned,” Silvers said.

“During the pandemic, South Australia has shown it can safely stage AFL games and this is a credit to the government and health authorities, as well as Adelaide Oval management.

“We will always fight hard for what is in the best interests of our members and fans.”

Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said the round 16 match could still be played in Adelaide on Saturday although the number of spectators allowed to attend is up in the air.

“I don’t think there’s a problem with the game being played, it’s just whether we have spectators and in which way have spectators,” Spurrier said on Wednesday.

The COVID management plan between the Adelaide Oval and SA Health allows the stadium to be at full capacity, but ticket sales for the match were suspended on Wednesday morning.

If the game is only allowed to be held behind closed doors, the AFL would likely re-schedule the match in Victoria instead considering both the Crows and Lions are already in the state.