AFL fixture news: MCG to host Wednesday night fixture to open 2022 season
Victorian fans who have been robbed of live footy over the past two years are to be rewarded under a bold plan by the AFL to kick off the season with an avalanche of action.
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The AFL is strongly considering launching the 2022 season with a blockbuster Wednesday night clash in a break from fixture tradition.
Sources have confirmed the league is weighing up scheduling a grand final rematch between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs or the regular season-opener between Carlton and Richmond on a Wednesday night instead of the traditional Thursday night slot.
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While a final decision has not yet been made, there is support to bring forward the first game of the men’s season by 24 hours to help kickstart the season with a bang at a packed-out MCG.
Playing the men’s season-opener on a Wednesday night would allow the AFL to schedule three stand-alone blockbuster night matches in a row on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights in Round 1.
The league wants to celebrate the return of AFL in Victoria with the three marquee matches after shipping huge chunks of the past two seasons — including the premiership deciders — interstate due to the Covid crisis.
The trio of stand-alone night matches would be expected to attract blockbuster television ratings and bumper attendances off the back of two hugely-interrupted seasons, especially in Victoria.
Victorian fans have been starved of live action over the past two years but the league is eager to fill the MCG and Marvel Stadium for the first few games of the season.
In particular, there will be considerable intrigue when the two grand finalists and 2022 flag fancies lock horns after a Perth nightclub exchange in the hours after Melbourne’s premiership win.
The Demons want to unfurl their premiership flag in front of a capacity MCG crowd after winning a drought-breaking premiership by 74 points over the Dogs in Perth.
The league has backed in Richmond and Carlton to open the season since 2007, drawing massive crowds, but that honour could be handed to the Demons and Dogs who missed out on playing the decider at the MCG this year. A decision is expected to be made this week.
There have been only 30 games played at the MCG in front of crowds since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and none since Collingwood upset Richmond in Round 17 this year.
The Sydney Swans will also demand a big stage in Round 1 at the SCG as champion forward Lance Franklin attempts to become only the sixth man to kick 1000 goals.
Franklin is five short of the magical milestone and will command a considerable spotlight in the build-up to the Swans’ first game of the season.
He will join greats Tony Lockett (1360 goals), Gordon Coventry (1299), Jason Dunstall (1254), Doug Wade (1057) and Gary Ablett (1034).
The first part of the AFL fixture is expected to be announced within the next fortnight with strong hopes the 2022 season can run more smoothly without more lockdowns and empty stadiums.
On Thursday, the league will release the 2022 AFLW fixture which will begin on Friday night, January 7.
Perth may lose the fifth Ashes Test to the MCG due to its hard line stance on quarantine measures, with Western Australia premier Mark McGowan ruling players must serve 14 days quarantine.
But the league is optimistic the AFL fixture will operate more normally once WA hits a 90 per cent double vaccination rate and reopens its border to Covid hot spots from next month.
At worst, a shorter quarantine period may suffice for travelling teams in the early part of the season.
But there remains a degree of uncertainty around Western Australia’s approach amid fears about the new Covid variant Omicron.
Regardless, clubs are confident there will be strong take-up of memberships and ticket sales from the footy-starved Victorian public for next season.
Clubs are keen for two pre-season games after last year’s competition was reduced to one match per club to minimise travel and potential exposure to the virus.
The league has ruled all players and staff must be double vaccinated to take part in the competition next season.
Originally published as AFL fixture news: MCG to host Wednesday night fixture to open 2022 season
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