The GWS Giants and Sydney Swans could both see their finals aspirations go up in flames with the prospect of remaining away from home for a month increasingly likely.
New South Wales' COVID-19 outbreak has caused a number of states to shut its borders, with Western Australia not allowing its own teams to travel to NSW for games.
Both the Giants and Swans departed the state this week without knowing when exactly they would be returning back home amid Sydney's current coronavirus situation.
As a result, both Sydney and the Giants could be forced to play their scheduled home games in Victoria, with Sydney's Round 16 clash against West Coast likely to be moved away from the SCG.
According to veteran AFL reporter Caroline Wilson, the Giants in particular have been left "flat" by the prospect of a month interstate.
"Neither GWS or Sydney are happy at being told they will be (in Victoria) for a month," she told Nine's Footy Classified.
"They are insisting that things could calm down in New South Wales, (saying) they could only miss two weeks and could go home in two weeks' time.
"GWS are vying for a spot in the eight and they are flat today, they are really flat about this, and Sydney are fighting to keep their spot in the eight and they're the two teams impacted."
Former AFL coach Ross Lyon urged both the Swans and the Giants to study the teams who had performed well during interstate trips in order to maintain their spots on the ladder.
"They're going to be flat but hopefully they've done their research, those teams,"
Lyon said. "Which teams handled it? How did they handle it?"
"I think they would've done their research on how to keep these players in good form and on track with this difficult, difficult situation."
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