Dockers, Swans set for Cairns hub
THE Fremantle Dockers and Sydney Swans will finish the AFL season in Cairns with all players and staff moving to the tropical north for rounds 15 to 18.
Cairns will join Darwin and Alice Springs as locations for the Covid-19-impacted season, with games to be played at Cazalys Stadium.
The Dockers and Swans will play North Melbourne, Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and Richmond – opponents who will fly in and out of the third Queensland location with the potential for up to 16 clubs to finish the season in the Sunshine State.
Taking the games to Cairns is another tick in the box for Queensland’s hopes of staging the AFL Grand Final.
Fremantle players and staff will depart Perth following the Round 14 clash against GWS at Optus Stadium, with the exact fixtures for the final four rounds still to be determined.
Dockers general manager Peter Bell said the club wasn’t yet aware of the quarantine restrictions it would be facing in its new home.
“We were really pleased with the way our players and staff welcomed and embraced the move to the Gold Coast in June, and this will be no different,” Bell said.
“The opportunity to train and play together in Cairns will add to the significant growth we have already made as a young team in a short period of time.”
The club is yet to receive confirmation on what the quarantine conditions will be on players and staff when they return from Queensland.
AFL general manager of broadcasting Travis Auld said it was fantastic to return football to Cairns, as well as base two clubs in the Cairns community.
“We are delighted to be again playing games at Cazalys, and to have Fremantle and the Sydney Swans staying in Cairns, which has such a passionate AFL support base,” he said.
“We are always excited to bring our games to far north Queensland, and now for a period of time, having teams in the community and contributing to the local economy when it is really needed.”
Between 2011 and 2018, the
Gold Coast Suns played one regular season game a year at Cazalys Stadium, facing off against the Tigers, the Bulldogs and the Kangaroos.
The full fixtures for rounds 15 to 18 will be released in the coming days.
Former Demons Sam Blease and Aaron Davey are rejoicing at the revelation the oldest football club in Australia is on the way to FNQ.
Following their careers at the elite level, both Blease and Davey settled in Cairns and are working and playing in the local competition.
Davey has led the resurgent City Lions for several years while Blease is in quarantine in Brisbane, aiming to be in FNQ soon to continue his role as Centrals Trinity football manager.
Of the three teams on their way to Cairns next month, Melbourne has perhaps the biggest lure from a neutral perspective. It’s a club on the way up which should lenge for the top eight.
Blease, who played 33 games over four years at Melbourne, said his old mob should play finals.
“From a selfish point of view, it is going to be great to watch Melbourne, as a Melbourne Demons person, and all the rest of it,” Blease said.
“The last month they have hit their straps a little bit and are now moving towards playing finals.” chal