TRAINING in small groups, reducing the amount of face-to-face contact and warning players to avoid spending excessive time in public are some of the steps AFL clubs are taking to shield themselves from the coronavirus.

Clubs are preparing to play the opening round of the competition in closed stadiums, starting with Thursday night's traditional round one encounter between reigning premiers Richmond and Carlton at the MCG.

Six clubs face the added challenge of travelling interstate – Fremantle, Sydney, Geelong, Port Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne.

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Swans coach John Longmire said his club has made changes to its training program to minimise the risk of the virus spreading among the playing group and staff.

"We've implemented some strategies around smaller groups as much as we can," Longmire told reporters in a teleconference on Monday.

"We're trying to make sure that the practices we put in place at the footy club are as good as they can be.

"Any meetings we have are in very small numbers in very large meeting rooms.

"We understand the players have to train and they'll be training, but we're trying to minimise the chances our players have of contact with each other as much as they can, but also in the greater community."

The Swans are scheduled to take on Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

Longmire declined to reveal whether anyone at the Swans had been tested for the coronavirus, but said the players and staff were following the best possible advice.

He stressed the health and safety of people took precedence when considering any decision concerning playing games under the current circumstances.

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"This is such a complex issue," Longmire said.

"We have to rely on the advice that we get because in the end, as a football coach, that's what we rely upon, is the professionals to be able to guide us and give us advice in that space.

Meanwhile, the Dockers are waiting to be advised by the AFL if charter flights will be available for Saturday's clash against Essendon at Marvel Stadium.

The Dockers are making arrangements to travel out of Perth Airport as normal if charter flights are not arranged, adding as many precautions as possible amid the COVID-19 crisis.

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These will include giving players and staff private access into and out of airports and isolating them as much as possible on flights to and from Melbourne.  

The Dockers said the travelling party would also have an isolated floor in their hotel with swipe card access.

Fremantle has closed the reception and team store at its Cockburn base and encouraged as many staff as possible to work remotely.

Port Adelaide trained in small groups on Monday to limit contact among the players as much as possible.

"We'll go in today in about groups of 10 to limit contact, just in case if someone does go down we can cover it," Power midfielder Tom Rockliff told a News Corp podcast.

"There's no doubt the club is taking all precautions at the moment.

"We're trying to limit our contact on the outside world as well.

"It's something we've never faced before and it's a unique situation."

The Power are planning at this stage to hold their usual main training session at Alberton Oval on Tuesday.

The club's merchandise store and the Port Club is open as usual, while staff worked from home on Monday to test the capabilities of communicating remotely.

Adelaide is also training in smaller groups, while the football department is isolated from the rest of the club.

The Crows' club cafe, the foyer and reception is closed to the public. The entire administration is working from home apart from the club executive, which is still working at the club’s West Lakes headquarters.

Several Victorian clubs, including Richmond and St Kilda, have closed their headquarters to outside visitors, while the Saints have also closed the club shop and cafe. All St Kilda's non-essential football staff have been told to work from home where possible. 

Melbourne already has split its AFL and AFLW programs, with the men's team training at the club's base at Casey Fields and the women staying at the AAMI Park base in the city.   

- with Jennifer Phelan