ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 06: A general view of play during the round 20 AFL match between the Adelaide Crows and the Port Adelaide Power at Adelaide Oval on August 6, 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

The AFL's long-awaited return to football looks to have hit another snag, with South Australia denying Adelaide and Port Adelaide players any exemption from strict 14-day quarantine laws, reports The Herald Sun. 

The league is believed to have proposed a concept to all states involved that looked to outline the return of the 2020 season within the first week of June.

AFL heads were hoping to release the schedule for the early rounds of the new-look fixture, with the league anticipating the NRL's anticipated return on May 28 may give their rival competition a healthy head-start.

But latest news from South Australia has halted the AFL's return plans, with SA deputy chief health officer Dr Chris Lease revealing the state's AFL clubs won't be given special exemption from strict 14-day quarantine rules.

“The identified quarantine measures pre and during the season lack the level of detail and rigour to provide confidence that the protocol would reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in SA.” Dr Lease stated in an email to AFL representatives.

The blow could see Crows and Port players joining West Coast and Fremantle in locating to an eastern state, with the potential of abandoned fly-in fly-out policies in place.

The AFL had originally planned a proposed return during the first week of June, with fans being treated to an action-packed Queen's Birthday long-weekend fixture.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews gave the 10 Victorian clubs the green light to resume full-contact training after the state's restrictions were eased, beginning this morning.

The demand by clubs for three weeks of training before fixtures restart mixed with the remaining restrictions for interstate clubs could force a further delay to the AFL's return.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall blurred the lines after appearing to contradict Dr Lease's statement to the AFL.

“South Australia will be maintaining quarantine requirements for all AFL players due to quarantine being an essential measure in SA to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in this state,” Dr Lease said.

“In practice, this would mean that our local teams would need to quarantine on return to South Australia from interstate.”

But Marshall revealed that the two SA clubs and their government may look to find an agreement that would follow modified quarantine laws.

“One option, which is being actively pursued at the moment, is that the Crows and the Power base themselves in SA, they do their training in SA and they fly out for their game in another jurisdiction and then fly back,” Marshall said.

“They wouldn’t be spending a huge amount of time there, we want to minimise the possibility for them to contract the disease, and then we work out what sort of modified agreed position (there is) in regards to a form of quarantine when they come back in that would minimise the chance of transmission.

“A lot of this is going to be dictated by when the season starts, and also what the level of infection is in other jurisdictions.”

The AFL is still expected to reveal the season's restart in the coming days, with a mid-june restart date now looking more likely.

“We are working closely with respective state governments, relevant medical authorities and the 18 clubs on finalising the medical and return to play protocols” An AFL spokeswoman said.