GOLD COAST Stadium will host the opening of the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships on May 23, with the Docklands set to stage its conclusion with a four-match bonanza on July 1.
This year each of the eight competing teams will play five matches, giving the country's brightest young stars one extra game to show their wares in front of AFL recruiters.
Each of the eight competing teams – New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria Country, Victoria Metropolitan and Western Australia – will host matches in their respective states/territories.
Teams in division one – South Australia, Vic Country, Vic Metro and Western Australia – will play each other once, plus two teams from division two. It is vice-versa for the remaining teams in division two.
AFL national and international game development general manager Dave Matthews said this match schedule was preferred to the old set-up, which saw fewer matches condensed into a week of football in one location.
"We want to spread the championships a bit," Matthews told afl.com.au. "When we used to ask elite kids to play and back up in eight days, it wasn't fair.
"If players aren't fit for an eight-day period, therefore you miss the opportunity to represent your state on a national stage.
"It's not fair to ask kids to back up when a substantial amount of draft decisions are made out of those championships."
Matthews said exposure on AFL grounds – although not always possible – was just as important as playing across the country.
"To play a state game on Subiaco is something we've only done in the past two years, because it's usually been done in Melbourne.
"We find it very difficult to get curtain-raiser opportunities in Melbourne … because it's very difficult to get on Docklands and it gets more problematic each year at the MCG.
"But the final day last year at Telstra Dome was just fantastic with the triple-header, so we're looking forward to that again."
2009 NAB AFL UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIPS FIXTURE
Round One
May 23
Queensland v NSW/ACT (Carrara)
Tasmania v Northern Territory (Carrara)
May 30
Western Australia v South Australia (Subiaco)
May 31
Vic Country v Vic Metro (Skilled Stadium)
Round Two
June 5
Northern Territory v Western Australia (TIO Stadium, Darwin)
June 6
NSW/ACT v Vic Metro (Sydney)
Queensland v South Australia (Sydney)
June 7
Tasmania v Vic Country (Bellerive)
Round Three
June 13
Western Australia v Vic Metro (Subiaco)
June 14
South Australia v Vic Country (AAMI Stadium)
June 20
NSW/ACT v Northern Territory (ANZ Stadium)
Tasmania v Queensland (Aurora Stadium)
Round Four
June 27
NSW/ACT v South Australia (Visy Park)
Vic Country v Northern Territory (Casey Fields)
Vic Metro v Queensland (Casey Fields)
Tasmania v Western Australia (Casey Fields)
Round Five
July 1
Tasmania v NSW/ACT (Docklands)
Queensland v Northern Territory (Docklands)
Vic Country v Western Australia (Docklands)
Vic Metro v South Australia (Docklands)
