Sharks can be Good on Friday

SOUTHPORT will be part of a groundbreaking NEAFL fixture next year, kicking off the new season on Good Friday.

New Sharks coach Steve Daniel has welcomed the innovation which pits Southport against Canberra at Allinsure Park in Queanbeyan on March 30.

It is a stand-alone fixture moved forward from Round 8, while the official NEAFL Round 1 is set to be played on April 7.

A new-look draw that should work in the favour of the non-AFL clubs pits the four AFL clubs against each other three times over the season.

Southport have to play Queensland rivals Aspley, Redland and the Northern Territory three times each but with two of those games on the road.

But the NT have a favourable draw with 11 home games, four of them against the AFLaligned clubs.

Daniel declined to comment on the Thunder draw which features five successive home games from Round 16 to Round 20.

Southport get powerful Sydney University two times here on the Gold Coast at Fankhauser Reserve.