THE AFL has moved to address concerns of Collingwood supporters inconvenienced by the change in venue for the round one clash between the Magpies and the Sydney Swans from ANZ Stadium to the SCG.
The announcement blindsided the Pies and many of their supporters who had made arrangements to stay in Sydney and attend the game over Easter.
However after discussions with Collingwood on Tuesday, AFL general manager of clubs and operations Travis Auld announced a plan to minimise the impact on fans of the late decision.
"Having spoken to Collingwood, the AFL is encouraging fans who have booked accommodation in the Homebush area to contact Collingwood on 1300 MAGPIE (1300 62 47 43) during business hours," Auld said.
"The AFL will work with Collingwood to offer alternate travel arrangements to the SCG for those fans."
The move for the Swans to play all home games at the SCG from 2016 was announced on Monday.
It followed months of confidential negotiations involving the Swans to end the agreement to play home games at ANZ Stadium a year early.
While generally seen as a positive long-term move for the game in Sydney, the Magpies objected to the lack of notification and the impact the decision had on its supporters.
Magpies president Eddie McGuire told SEN on Tuesday he was not concerned about playing at the SCG but was worried about the impact on the club and its supporters.
"It's more the logistics of the whole situation - we're locked and loaded, the fixture comes out, we get told every other week that you can't move a game so we're just saying 'hang on a second, you could have given us a heads up here'," McGuire said.
"We released our hold on hotels in the city centre that will now cost us a fortune, but also our supporters."
Assistance offered to round 1 fans
Collingwood and the AFL will assist fans inconvenienced by the relocation of Round 1's clash between the Magpies and Sydney.