2006 AFL Draw
The return of Monday night football, more Thursday night football and an earlier than expected return to the MCG are among the highlights of the 2006 AFL draw,
The return of Monday night football, more Thursday night football and an earlier than expected return to the MCG are among the highlights of the 2006 AFL draw, which was released by the league on Tuesday.Collingwood will host Adelaide at Telstra Dome on the Monday night of the opening round, while Port Adelaide will meet St Kilda at AAMI Stadium in round four, the Monday night before Anzac Day, with both matches to be televised nationally by Channel Ten.And following the spectacular success of the Thursday night season-opener in 2005 between the Brisbane Lions and St Kilda – the most watched home and away game for the season – the Saints will again hit the road to open the 2006 season, this time against West Coast at Subiaco.The Saints will also feature on a Thursday night two weeks later, when they host the Lions at Telstra Dome on Good Friday eve.The Eagles and Saints will meet at Subiaco on 30 March to kick start an opening round that takes place over five days.The Bulldogs and Richmond meet on the Friday night at Telstra Dome, there are three matches on the Saturday, two on the Sunday and the Pies-Crows clash on the Monday night.Twilight football also gets another look-in in round one with Melbourne playing a home game against Carlton at Telstra Dome, with the start time scheduled for 5.10pm following the Australian Grand Prix, which takes place at nearby Albert Park earlier that day.A decision by the Victorian government to fast-track the removal of the Commonwealth Games athletics track means that the fully-redeveloped MCG, with a capacity of over 100,000, will only be unavailable for the first three rounds and will host a blockbuster game first-up, the Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon.That match will be played on a Tuesday and will be the last game of round four with the other three MCG tenants - Richmond, Melbourne and Hawthorn – to host home matches at the ground the following week in a round dubbed "The Return to the MCG" round.The Tigers will host arch-rivals Carlton on the Friday night in round five, Melbourne will host the Kangaroos on the Saturday while long-standing enemies Hawthorn and Essendon will clash on the Sunday.The AFL's general manager of broadcasting, strategy and major projects Ben Buckley says the league has been assured by the Melbourne Cricket Club that the MCG will be ready for Anzac Day even though that is just one month after the Commonwealth Games finish on March 26.Originally the MCG was not expected to be available for AFL matches until the end of round six and Buckley admitted there was a chance a spate of wet weather in April could delay the removal of the athletics track.But he was confident the league would be able to cope if that was the case."Should the MCG not be available, we think we have got enough flexibility to relocate (the MCG) games in rounds five and six," he said.That would mean Telstra Dome hosting even more matches, but Buckley is confident the MCG will be ready on time.The MCG will host just 39 matches next season but will host a minimum of 45 games per season from 2007 onwards while Telstra Dome will host a record 50 matches next year due to the MCG's early season unavailability.However the MCG will host more Friday night games next season, including several in the middle of the season.A feature of the 2006 draw is that the AFL will again play games in every state and territory.As previously announced, Launceston's Aurora Stadium will host five games in 2006, with Hawthorn adding a third home game.The Hawks open the season there against Fremantle in round one, but break new ground in Tasmania by playing their other two games against fellow Victorian-based clubs – Richmond and the Kangaroos - in rounds 12 and 21 - while St Kilda's home games there will be against Fremantle in round five and the Port in round 16.Also as announced, Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast will host games for the first time since the Brisbane Bears departed in 1992, with Melbourne and Hawthorn each hosting one home game there.The Demons will play Adelaide on the Gold Coast in round three on a Sunday afternoon while Hawthorn will play Brisbane there in round seven.The league is currently spending $1 million on the ground to ensure the playing surface and corporate, media and coaches' facilities are up to scratch by the time of the pre-season competition.The Kangaroos will play their usual three games at Manuka Oval and the Western Bulldogs' annual game against Darwin will be against Port for the second time in three years - in round 19.All teams – except for Sydney and the Brisbane Lions – will host at least one Friday night home game and every team plays one match in both South Australia and Western Australia.Because Anzac Day falls on a Tuesday in 2006, both Collingwood and Essendon face five-day breaks before their round five clashes the following Sunday.Both clubs have agreed to this as have the Lions, who will have only five days to prepare for their Easter Thursday clash with the Saints.The Saints' status as the biggest attraction in Victoria at present has been confirmed with the club involved in the most Friday night matches next year - seven - which includes two Thursday night matches.In contrast Collingwood, so often accused of getting too many Friday night matches because of its massive supporter base, has been punished for its poor form in the past two seasons with the Pies to play just four Friday night games next year - down from six in 2005 and nine in 2004.However the Pies will still have sole access to both of football's biggest days on the home and away calendar - against Essendon on Anzac Day and against Melbourne on Queen's Birthday.The Pies will also play in the only game on Easter Monday but this is against the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome and will be a Kangaroos' home game, providing a massive financial boost to the cash-strapped Roos.The Roos have also been allocated a Friday night home game against Carlton at Telstra Dome, which will be the only game in Melbourne in the second half of the split round.The split round will take place over round 12, with six games the first weekend and two on the second weekend, including Sydney and Collingwood once again at Telstra Stadium.The Swans will also host Geelong at Telstra Stadium for the first time, in a re-match of this year's memorable semi-final at the SCG.West Coast and Port Adelaide will travel interstate in round 22, with the Eagles playing Richmond at the MCG on Saturday afternoon and the Power visiting Fremantle at Subiaco on Saturday night while Melbourne has to travel in the last round for the second time in three years - this time to Adelaide.Other features of the draw include:* Three new match-ups for the Round Six Rivalry Round, which will have an 80s theme – St Kilda v Western Bulldogs, Essendon v Richmond, and Kangaroos v Hawthorn.* The MCG will host seven Friday night matches, including some in the middle of the season. The AFL says the redeveloped stadium, with more undercover seating, now makes it a more attractive venue for night games in the middle of winter.* Sydney will play 13 Saturday night games and the Brisbane Lions 15, to capitalise on prime-time viewing opportunities in their home markets.* The 2005 grand finalists – West Coast and Sydney – will meet just once, at Subiaco in round 15.Meanwhile the draw for the pre-season NAB Cup will be released later this month. It will start on 24 February and finish on March 18.And the final may still be played at Telstra Dome despite clashing with the opening weekend of the Commonwealth Games, if a Victorian-based club qualifies to host the final.
