Mr Weatherill last month said candidates from Mr Xenophon's party were planning to distance themselves if elected, but would not reveal which candidates he was referring to.

On Wednesday, he named them as Tom Antonio in Giles, John Noonan in Cheltenham and Michelle Campbell in Chaffey.

He said the three candidates had "revealed themselves".

"You've got Mr Noonan that said that he'll take a ministry," he said.

"You've got Mr Antonio that said that basically Whyalla comes first and that he'll be voting against Nick if he needs to support Whyalla, and you've got the Chaffey candidate that says that she's got a conscience vote on every issue."

But Mr Xenophon said the Premier's claims were baseless and the candidates involved have taken offence.

"We've seen extraordinary and desperate claims by both (Opposition Leader) Steven Marshall and Jay Weatherill, against SA-BEST, during this election campaign," he said.

"Firstly Steven Marshall made a totally false claim against me that I had done 'a deal' with Jay Weatherill - completely false - and I have had to send lawyers letters to him and have kept my options open for taking legal action.

"Now Jay Weatherill, with his 'defectors' claims, is stooping to a new low by claiming that Tom, Michelle and John are planning to defect - completely false - and something that all three are very upset about."

He says the candidates are also willing to sign statutory declarations to refute the claims.