THE TWO Opening Round matches scheduled for Queensland this weekend have been postponed due to the tropical cyclone that is set to hit the state's south coast.

Brisbane's match against Geelong at the Gabba on Thursday night and Gold Coast's game against Essendon at People First Stadium on Saturday afternoon will now be played later in the season, with those details yet to be determined by the AFL.

FULL STATEMENT Hear from the AFL about Opening Round changes

It means the League's Opening Round this weekend will consist of just two matches; Sydney and Hawthorn will open the season at the SCG on Friday night before Greater Western Sydney will host Collingwood on Sunday.

AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon.

Up to 700mm of rain and winds of up to 130km/h are forecast across southern Queensland and northern New South Wales from Thursday due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, with residents urged to secure supplies and prepare their properties for the cyclone's impact.

"Out of an abundance of caution and after ongoing communication with the Queensland Government, the Bureau of Meteorology and Stadiums Queensland, the AFL made the decision now to ensure the health and safety of clubs, players, officials and – importantly - the wider southeastern Queensland and northern NSW community remains the priority," the AFL said in a statement.

"The AFL will announce the alternate schedule for these matches as soon as possible as we continue to work with clubs and venues on possible scenarios. The rescheduled matches won’t be played during Opening Round."

All ticket holders will be contacted directly regarding the changes.

A possible scenario for the Lions v Cats game is to play it in round three, when both clubs are currently scheduled to have a bye. There are currently just two matches scheduled for the Sunday of round three; Adelaide v North Melbourne at 3.20pm AEDT and the derby between West Coast v Fremantle at 6.10pm AEDT.

The Suns (round two) and Bombers (round four) have their byes scheduled on different weekends, which complicates matters when trying to find a date to reschedule their match.

The fact Essendon will play Hawthorn on the Friday night of round one also means the Suns v Bombers game couldn't be pushed back by a few days as Brad Scott's side would need enough time to fly home to Melbourne and prepare to face the Hawks.

Gold Coast's mid-season bye is in round 14, while Essendon's is in round 16.

"As I said yesterday, the priority is that we do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of everyone in and around any potential cyclone zone or community impacted by the forecast heavy rains and storm surges," AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said.

"It is a very uncertain situation that is unfolding, and our thoughts are with everyone in southeast Queensland and northern NSW that may be impacted. Ultimately, we hope this weather event doesn't eventuate, but we know everyone needs to prepare accordingly and we don't want our games to be a distraction to those preparations.

"We want to make the decision now to give clubs and fans certainty in an uncertain environment and allow anyone from Queensland who would normally be involved in this game through coaching, playing, attending or working at the venue time to be home with their families and available in the community if required.

"I want to thank our clubs for their support and patience, our broadcasters for being aligned with our view that the community and public safety must always come first, the venues and venue partners and our fans for their understanding."

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan had earlier urged the AFL to make the "logical" decision.

"It's just a game of football. The safety of family and friends and staff and fans is the priority, that is why common sense has to prevail," Fagan said.

"It's a cyclone ... I have seen the carnage they have cause at different periods of Australian history, so I'm not too keen on the idea of things going ahead if it's going to be like that ... it can't, can it?"

Geelong coach Chris Scott had also said a decision was needed from the AFL ahead of some Cats players due to fly to Queensland later Tuesday.

"It sort of reminds me of the COVID situation," Scott said. "It's a bit unpalatable talking about when you prefer to play a game of footy when people are sandbagging their houses."