Carlton, Saints get plum matches
CARLTON and St Kilda have been handed blockbuster Friday night clashes in the upcoming fixture release as the AFL leaves open the possibility of a grandstand round 23 finish between arch rivals.
The AFL’s early indication on the fixture from rounds 20-22, set to be released this week, has Brisbane featuring in two Friday night clashes and likely to be handed that slot in the floating round 23.
An ideal round 23 fixture could involve Brisbane-Melbourne on the Friday night and then Carlton hosting Collingwood on the final day of the home-and-away season with massive stakes for both clubs.
It is understood that in a trio of Friday night clashes in rounds 20-22 Fremantle will host Melbourne in round 20, Brisbane will take on Carlton (Gabba) in round 21 and St Kilda hosts Brisbane in round 22 at Marvel Stadium.
All three encounters will feature teams pushing for a high finals spot as the Dockers are handed yet another Friday night clash given their strong performances.
They hosted North Melbourne in a Friday doubleheader early in the year and will take on Richmond at Marvel Stadium in round 19.
Brisbane would seem perfectly placed to host Melbourne in the round 23 floating fixture that has venues and clashes but not yet timeslots.
The Sunday clashes of round 22 are Richmond-Hawthorn,
Sydney-Collingwood and Essendon-Port Adelaide.
That means any of those six teams would have to play off a five-day break to feature in a Friday night clash in round 23 which is unlikely. So when the league finalises round 23 a Friday night Brisbane-Melbourne game would potentially be for a top-two spot.
Then the AFL could schedule the traditional CarltonCollingwood clash on Sunday afternoon in the 3.20pm or 4.40pm slot as both teams push for a return to finals.
A best-case scenario for the AFL would be one of those teams having to win to secure a double chance or even finals participation with the last or second-last game of the AFL season.
The AFL will have another bye before the finals ahead of a likely week one finals schedule that will again feature a Thursday night final.
It will make it 11 Thursday night games for the year, with AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan suggesting 14 or 15 home-and-away games would be played on Thursdays next year.
The AFL told chief executives on Thursday the league would schedule a fixtured fixture next year with about 16 rounds locked in when the fixture was announced in late October or early November.
It will allow clubs the chance to plan for marquee fixtures, lure rival fans from interstate with early flight bookings and give spectators more certainty in their planning.