Chris Fagan urges AFL to postpone season opener between Brisbane Lions and Geelong due to Cyclone Alfred

Due to hurricane warnings, sporting events like golf have been canceled, and Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan is calling on the Australian Football League (AFL) to postpone the season's opening match. Coach Fagan hopes the league will prioritize common sense and postpone the Lions' game against the Geelong Cats, originally scheduled for Thursday night at Brisbane's Gabba stadium.

The Gold Coast Suns' home game against the Essendon Bombers, scheduled for Saturday, is also under threat. Coach Fagan told reporters on Tuesday, "The sooner a decision is made, the better." He emphasized that this is just a football game compared to the safety of family, friends, staff, and fans, so common sense must prevail.

Coach Fagan further explained that the damage caused by the hurricane should not be ignored, and therefore he does not want the game to proceed under the threat of the hurricane. AFL management is meeting in Sydney and is expected to announce a decision later on Tuesday, with a postponement of the match being highly likely.

Coach Fagan believes that postponing the game to Round 3, when both Brisbane and Geelong have a bye, is the "logical" thing to do. Geelong Cats coach Chris Scott has also requested the AFL to make a decision as soon as possible, as some Cats players were scheduled to fly to Queensland later on Tuesday. Scott said in an interview with SEN radio, "We do need to know, even just in principle, the idea of flying into the eye of a hurricane doesn't sound great."