Port Adelaide in historic AFL Good Friday double-header with clash in Perth against league premiers West Coast
PORT Adelaide will be part of the first-ever AFL Good Friday double-header with a demanding clash with league premiers West Coast in Perth
PORT Adelaide is on the AFL’s new-look Good Friday fixture — as part of a double-header during the religious holiday.
The Power is drawn to play its nemesis, league premiers West Coast, at the new Perth Stadium on Friday, April 19 in a 6.10pm twilight clash that will air on SA television sets from 7.40pm.
The match will follow the North Melbourne-Essendon clash at the Dockland’s Marvel Stadium in Melbourne in the first Good Friday double-header on the AFL calendar.
The AFL ended the taboo with Good Friday football in 2017 with the Western Bulldogs-North Melbourne clash at the Docklands.
This double-header featuring the Power is conditionally to there being no late adjustment to the fixture as the AFL on Tuesday night was forced to delay the release of next year’s 23-round home-and-away draw until Thursday afternoon.
It is understood some AFL clubs have taken issue with the draft fixture.
All 18 league clubs were handed preliminary notes on the fixture late on Tuesday, with basic information such as how their five “double-up” games unfold. In Port Adelaide’s case there are two games against Adelaide and Fremantle next season.
The Good Friday clash with the Eagles would be the only Port Adelaide-West Coast game in the home-and-away series next year.
The Power-Eagles clashes at Adelaide Oval in the past two seasons have been epic finishes with West Coast scoring winning goals after the siren — from Luke Shuey in the extra-time elimination final last year and Jeremy McGovern in Round 21 this season.
Port Adelaide will open the premiership season against Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday, March 23 while Adelaide hosts Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval in a twilight clash immediately after the Power game ends.
The draft fixture has Port Adelaide opening its home stand against wooden spooner Carlton.
There is still no clarity on where the two Crows-Power Showdowns fit on the AFL fixture with expectation rising that Adelaide will have its home derby on a Friday night.
And last night the Crows announced they will play a Round 11 game against Melbourne in Darwin.
The game at TIO Stadium will be played on Saturday, June 1.
It will be the third-straight year that the Crows have played an AFL game in the Northern Territory.
In 2017, the two sides faced off in the NT’s capital with Adelaide running out 46-point winners in front of 12,104 fans. In Round 10 this year, the Crows were thrashed by 91 points by the eventual preliminary finalists.