The Brisbane Lions are set to hit the road with the AFL’s announcement of revised fixtures for rounds seven and eight.

After Saturday night’s blockbuster with the ladder leaders Port Adelaide the Lions will play at least the next two matches in NSW.

The Lions will play a Thursday night prime time clash with Geelong at the SCG on July 9 then remain in Sydney to take on the GWS Giants at Giants Stadium at 1.45pm on Saturday July 18.

The AFL released the revised fixture after determining all 9 Melbourne based sides plus Geelong would leave Victoria after their round five fixture and be temporarily relocated to other states across the country.
 
Lions coach Chris Fagan said the club would take the move into a NSW hub in its stride and were happy to play wherever the AFL deemed most appropriate to ensure the competition could continue under the various Government’s individual Covid 19 rules.

“This group has built resilience over the last three or four years,’’ he said.

“We were a team that nobody had much respect for and we’ve had to claw our way back to being respected so that resilience has been building and this is just another extension of that.

“That’s how we talk about it, it is a hurdle that we have to overcome and the key to that always is your attitude towards those hurdles and fortunately our guys have a positive approach to everything that happens.’’

AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan said the announcement was necessary to navigate the impact of Covid-19 on the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership season.
 
“The health and safety of our people and the wider community is paramount,’’ he said.

“We will continue to make decisions that are anchored in the advice of Governments and designed to protect our people and the wider community.
 
“I would also like to thank all of our clubs, players, coaches, umpires and officials for their continued support and ability to adapt quickly as we navigate through the changing environment.”