Gold Coast and Essendon have been locked in for a bizarre fixture for the final match of the home-and-away season, with the AFL confirming their rescheduled clash will take place in round 24.

The league on Thursday confirmed where the Suns-Bombers and Brisbane-Geelong match-ups would be shifted to after both games were postponed due to the threat of Tropical Cyclone Alfred in Queensland this week.

The Lions will now host the Cats at the Gabba in round three, when both clubs were due to have their first bye of the season. That match will be played at 6.35pm local time on Saturday March 29.

But the Suns’ meeting with the Bombers loomed as far more complicated, with the two bye weeks for the clubs not aligning. Gold Coast has weeks off in round two and round 14, with Essendon inactive in round four and round 16.

The AFL announced round 24 will now essentially be a double-header for both sides, with the two to meet in the days after what was scheduled to be their season-ending matches.

Essendon’s clash with Carlton at the MCG and Gold Coast’s trip to face Port Adelaide in South Australia will now likely be held early in round 24, before the Bombers and Suns do battle in the first few days of the pre-finals break.

“When looking at the rescheduling of these matches we had a focus on having the least amount of disruption on the competition, ensuring that all clubs still have a mid-season bye and managing travel arrangements across the season – particularly for the four impacted clubs,” AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said.

“I would like to thank our clubs, broadcasters and venues for their cooperation during this unprecedented situation and our thoughts remain with our staff, players, fans and all those in southeast Queensland and northern NSW that may be impacted.”

Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans backed the AFL’s decision.

“We are appreciative of the AFL’s efforts to move quickly to reschedule our match and provide certainty for our members and fans,” Evans said.

“We are satisfied this arrangement is the most reasonable outcome given the circumstances, and could very well provide fans from teams across the competition with one of the great grandstand finishes to a season.

“As for this weekend, the health and safety of our community is the number one priority right now and we urge everyone to follow the recommended advice to stay safe from Cyclone Alfred.”

Bombers chief executive Craig Vozzo said the club would work closely with the league with the scheduling of matches in the floating fixture across the latter weeks of the season to ensure a smooth lead-in to the round 24 double-header.

“The club has worked closely with the AFL over the past few days on a number of different rescheduling options and we are confident that this outcome is the best option available for our players and club, given the very unique circumstances that have arisen,” Vozzo said.

“It was extremely important to our players and staff that the midseason bye was preserved and we are pleased that the AFL have respected this request.”

The round 24 call means the Suns and Bombers will meet in consecutive months in the second half of the season, with a round 17 clash in early July in Melbourne now set to be followed by the late August game on the Gold Coast.