St Kilda set to be dumped from Good Friday as AFL considers power club to join North Melbourne

ST KILDA is expected to be dumped from Good Friday as the AFL considers whether to introduce a power club to the concept after a poor crowd this year.

North Melbourne will be retained for Good Friday. Picture: Michael Klein

NORTH MELBOURNE will be handed a third consecutive Good Friday encounter as the AFL considers whether to introduce a power club to the concept after a poor crowd this year.

St Kilda is expected to be dumped as a Good Friday participant after only a single year with a moderate Etihad Stadium crowd of 33,966.

Kangaroos chief executive Carl Dilena told the Herald Sun North Melbourne expected to play in the contest again next year in what is a packed early-season schedule.

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Brisbane is confident they will be fixtured a Good Friday Eve game at home against Collingwood, followed by the Roos again taking part in the third Good Friday game.

The next Wednesday night Richmond and Melbourne take part in their now-traditional game on Anzac Eve before the Collingwood-Essendon game on Thursday April 25.

There is speculation either Richmond or Essendon could take on North Melbourne because it would help maximise the break for the team playing the week after Good Friday.

Richmond would need to play Good Friday then the next Wednesday — only a five-day break.

Essendon would play Good Friday then the next Thursday — and would get a six-day break before taking on a Roos outfit that it played this year in an epic 35-goal shootout.

As of Thursday neither club had been told whether they will take part in the contest, with the league set to start drip-feeding out fixtures to clubs over the weekend.

St Kilda is set to be ditched from the Good Friday fixture. Picture: Getty Images

Carlton, which has long lobbied for a Good Friday slot, will not play in that slot and will be handed a fixture with its traditional season opener against Richmond and many Sunday afternoon slots after just two wins this year.

The Roos-Saints Good Friday game drew a poor crowd and resulted in a game just as flat, with both sides kicking 2.10 to halftime before North Melbourne eased to a 52-point win.

Dilena said the Roos were keen to continue building on the Good Friday appeal contest, confident of a greater crowd with North Melbourne set to enter 2019 as a much-hyped team.

He said the understanding was the Roos would be participating in Good Friday when the fixture is released on Wednesday.

“That is our expectation. The only discussions we have had along the way are who our opposition should be,’’ he said.

“We have put in a massive amount of work with the Good Friday Appeal and the Royal Children’s Hospital.

“We couldn’t have done any more to hold up our end of the bargain. We are keen to get a good fixture with it and get a good crowd like in the first year.”

He said the Roos were confident of a bigger crowd next year after this season’s average attendance.

“The predictions for our season weren’t too rosy either so there was probably a bit of negative sentiment about what both teams could bring to the table.

“This year we have come off a very competitive year and have some additions to our team and should be looking to play some pretty good footy next year so it augurs well.”