Thursday night’s AFL season opener has been postponed, with the threat of Tropical Cyclone Alfred forcing the call to be made two days out from Brisbane’s home fixture against Geelong.

It comes as Saturday’s game between Gold Coast and Essendon was also put on hold, leaving the league without two of its four matches for the opening week of the season.

SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE FOOTY TIPPING TO WIN A SHARE OF $85K

It leaves Sydney’s SCG clash with Hawthorn as the new season opener, with Sunday’s GWS-Collingwood game also unaffected.

The AFL confirmed the decision on Tuesday afternoon, with chief executive Andrew Dillon saying the league’s priority was the health and safety of everyone in the wider Queensland region.

“It is a very uncertain situation that is unfolding, and our thoughts are with everyone in southeast Queensland and northern NSW that may be impacted. Ultimately, 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.

“We want 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 through coaching, playing, attending or working at the venue time to be home with their families and available in the community if required.

“I want to thank our clubs for their support and patience, our broadcasters for being aligned with our view that the community and public safety must always come first, the venues and venue partners and our fans for their understanding.

“We also encourage all our supporters in the Queensland area to please follow all the directions from the Queensland Government in preparing for Cyclone Alfred.”

Dillon confirmed the two matches would not be rescheduled for later in Opening Round weekend, with a decision on where they get moved to set to be made in the coming days.

Brisbane and Geelong’s fixture appears likely to be shifted to round three later this month, when both clubs have a scheduled bye.

But the Suns-Bombers postponement looms as more complicated, with Gold Coast’s bye falling in round two - a weekend where Essendon’s game falls on the Saturday - and the Bombers inactive in round four, where the Suns play on the Saturday.

The call to push back the two matches has implications for both WA clubs. Fremantle face Geelong in next week’s round one action, and West Coast host Gold Coast, with both local clubs now set to take on an opposition that will also be playing their first match of the season.

In last year’s round one, clubs who featured in Opening Round had a 3-1 record against opponents who were playing their first match of the season.

The decision to postpone Thursday’s game came off the back of comments from Lions coach Chris Fagan earlier in the day where he said pushing back the match would be a “common sense” approach.

“Everyone’s safety needs to come first… common sense should prevail,” Fagan 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?”

Brisbane were set to unfurl their premiership flag in Thursday night’s clash, but this will now be delayed until their home opener at the Gabba against West Coast in round two.