The AFL has postponed the 2020 season as governments around the country move to implement drastic new measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Victoria and New South Wales plan to embark on shutdowns while South Australian borders will be closed.

UPDATE: Gillon McLachlan speaks on suspending footy for the good of the community

The trio of announcements arrived ahead of a national cabinet meeting on Sunday, with the federal government already advising against non-essential travel earlier in the day.

Football may have been ruled exempt from some restrictions on the basis of work as essential travel and the precautions taken by clubs prior to and during round one.

But the AFL has decided to suspend the competition as of Sunday night, informing clubs ahead of a 4.30pm AEDT press conference with chief executive Gillon McLachlan.

“Games will be suspended until May 31, 2020. We will review the situation by the end of April to determine whether a further suspension period will be required,” McLachlan said.

Your cookie settings are preventing this third party content from displaying. If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.

“The decision by various state governments to close their borders and (introduce) other measures meant it was time.”

Hawthorn and Brisbane were in action at the MCG when the AFL made its decision, while West Coast and Melbourne played the final game of round one in Perth from 6.40pm AEDT.

The decision to postpone the game has prematurely ended the AFLW finals series with four teams - North Melbourne, Melbourne, Fremantle and Carlton - still alive.

The league has left the 2020 AFLW premiership vacant after considering a range of options.

COMING CLEAN: Inside Nat Fyfe’s unconventional meeting with Ben Cousins

‘NOT THE SAME’: Geelong fan forced to miss first game since 1963

NRL GREAT: Cameron Smith’s heartfelt message to fans watching at home

“There’s no winners today. I think the decision was incredibly disappointing. The decision ended up being obvious today, but would have loved to have finished,” McLachlan said.

“In the end (potential premiers) all would have been contrived. There’s no winner this year because it’s been stood down by something bigger.”

The landmark move to suspend the season will have massive ramifications for the league, its 18 clubs and thousands of employees, with jobs across the industry at risk.

The game as a whole stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars despite plans to complete an abbreviated 153-game season and finals as late as required this year.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan announced the season had been suspended as of Sunday night. Credit: Getty

“To say this is the most serious threat to our game in 100 years is an understatement,” he said.

“It is unprecedented in its impact. It is unprecedented in the impact its having on our game and the wider community. And as a community and as a code we all need to take the unprecedented and required actions to get through this together.”

McLachlan said the AFL is already working with its financial partners to secure lines of credit, with the CEO confident all 18 clubs will survive the “biggest financial crisis in our history”.

But he admitted drastic measures will be taken to cut costs.

“It’s a challenge but we’ll get there. We’re working quickly to secure liquidity so we protect the AFL and our 18 clubs,” he said.

Players will not be allowed to train over the coming weeks and the AFL will this week confirm what comes next for clubs and their staff.

Chevron Right Icon ‘To say this is the most serious threat to our game in 100 years is an understatement’

The suspension has cleared TV broadcast schedules at a time when millions of Australians are practising social distancing to protect their families.

“We fully support the decision of the AFL to suspend the season, in the interest of player and community health and safety,” a Channel 7 spokesperson said.

“While we’re as disappointed as anyone else, we’ll work with the AFL and our partners to understand best next steps.”