Port Adelaide players face a pre-dawn wake-up to get to their Sunday AFL game on time.

The Power squad will take a three-hour flight to the Gold Coast on game day, with players and staff to assemble at their Alberton base at 5.30am Adelaide time.

Port play Sunday’s early game – a 1.05pm AEST kick-off against GWS – and will then fly back to Adelaide after the Metricon Stadium fixture.

It’s believed to be the first time Port have travelled interstate to play a premiership-season game.

“We will have to be at the club around 5.30am so it will be a reasonably early wake-up,” Power defender Dan Houston told reporters on Thursday.

“A few of the boys will be looking forward to getting a bit of sleep on the plane and making that flight go a little bit quicker.

“Obviously you lose a bit of sleep but nothing really changes – we have travelled long distance for (pre-season games before … we’re used to it.

“Other teams are going to have to do that, other teams are in hubbs, that is just our part to get the game going on the weekend.”

Ladder-leaders Port played their past three games in Queensland while based at a Gold Coast hub, before returning to Adelaide on Sunday.

The same-day travel schedule has been enacted as the AFL grapples with scheduling amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Port’s home-town rivals, Adelaide Crows, will also travel on game day this weekend.

The Crows will fly from Adelaide to play West Coast in Brisbane from 3.05pm AEST on Saturday but won’t have to depart as early as the Power.