The virus which has derailed sport around the globe has forced AFL Canberra clubs to "shut down" but it could eventually create a perfect storm in the premiership race.
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All football-related activities including trial games, match play, club training, school events and Auskick have been postponed until at least May 31.
It has left AFL Canberra to scrap the opening round of its senior competitions. The women's first grade competition was due to begin on April 10, with men following suit on April 18.
Some games in community league competitions were slated to start as soon as March 28.
AFL Canberra officials are hopeful clubs will be able to return to training in mid-May but teams will only be cleared to do so with a formal notification from the governing body.
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One option for the powers that be is to slice the 15-round competition, with the regular season due to finish on August 22, back to 10 rounds.
It would give each club a home and away fixture against each rival in the six-team competition, which Ainslie coach Chris Rourke says "might suit perfectly" to create an "exciting" finals race.
It comes as his side halts preparations for the season opener as they set their sights on a fifth consecutive first grade premiership - a feat achieved just twice before.
"We've shut down. The boys trained on Tuesday night and we just had a meeting afterwards to say I'll keep them updated every fortnight to see how we're going," Rourke said.
"We might give them some training programs and see how things go. At training we didn't have any bottles, any bibs, no contact, no ice baths.
"We'll just follow the procedure everyone is telling us. It's a little disappointing but we've got to look after the boys.
"We're closed until May 31, I'm a little bit worried to see how many boys will want to get off the couch heading into winter to start training again.
"On the other hand, I think the boys might actually be jumping out of their skin to do something again.
"Hopefully in a fortnight's time we will get more of an indication and we might be able to get small groups to train together.
"May is a long way away, so they can have a holiday for a couple of weeks and we'll start again."
AFL Canberra have opted to shelve the search for Steve Mahar's replacement as the game's regional manager due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Canberra Demons' NEAFL campaign has also been postponed until at least May 31 with the state league falling in line with the VFL, WAFL, SANFL and TSL.
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
