Western Australia's great sporting drought is about to end with the AFLW and A-League Men competitions set to make their return to Perth.
WA sporting fans have been starved of regular action since late last year, with the state's hard border proving an impossible hurdle for sports to jump.
Hopes of a swift sporting influx were dashed when the planned February 5 reopening was put on ice indefinitely.
But the WA government has now opened the door for professional sport to return as early as this month, with the AFLW set to kick off the action.
Fremantle and West Coast's AFLW teams are set to return to Perth next week.
Although they'll have to serve 14 days of quarantine, it's believed the WA government will grant them permission to train and play during that period.
Rival teams are set to be flown in to Perth under strict conditions, possibly allowing West Coast and Fremantle to remain at home for the remainder of the home-and-away season.
The Eagles and the Dockers haven't played in Perth since their round-one derby on January 8.
Perth Glory's A-League Men side have also been given a strong indication that they will be allowed to host games in the WA capital, possibly as soon as late February.
Glory last played on home soil on November 20, and a bulk of their squad is currently in isolation due to more COVID-19 cases.
Chief executive Tony Pignata is hopeful his team will be afforded an extended stay in Perth, given they've already spent a large chunk of the season on the road.
"I'm hopeful that maybe by the end of February we can be back and playing home games," Pignata said.
"We'd like to think we'd be back home for a couple of months, play eight games, play a bulk of our away games, and then come back again.
"My understanding is teams will be bussed in.
"Basically (players will go) straight from the change rooms to the playing field, back to the change room, (then take the) bus out.
"So there's no interaction, there's no mixing with the crowd.
"I'm hearing that we can play through our quarantine period as well, so that means we're not wasting time."
It's unclear whether Glory's women's side will be able to return to Perth to host games.
The Perth Scorchers played their season opener at Optus Stadium on December 8 before spending the rest of the BBL campaign on the road.
Remarkably, they still took out the title.
WA's Sheffield Shield side has been slated to host Victoria at the WACA Ground from March 23-26.
The Perth Wildcats' most recent NBL game on their home court was on December 19.
A relaxation of WA's border rules regarding sporting teams is set to open the door for the Wildcats to host bulk games in the back-end of the season.
