ONE SPLIT round as opposed to two and a slightly later start to the season were the main points of interest after the AFL released its key dates for 2009 on Monday.

Round one will kick off on Friday, March 27 next season, one week later than this year’s start date.

“Obviously the main reason we went forward this year is so we could take advantage of the Easter round,” AFL media relations manager Patrick Keane said on Monday.

With no State of Origin or Hall of Fame Tribute match planned for next year, players will only have one week off – with that likely to be in round 12 in mid-June.

“That [the Hall of Fame Tribute match] was the reason we had the extra one this year, so it’s returned to a more traditional format,” Mr Keane said.

The official fixture for the 2009 season won’t be released until later in the year however the AFL has started work on next year’s draw.

“We’ve made the initial contact with clubs and state governments to see if they have any requests, so they’re asked to give their response to us by early August,” Keane said.

“Then obviously we start developing the fixture process from there.”

As ever, the last Saturday in September has been reserved for football’s biggest occasion, with the AFL Grand Final set down for September 26.

AFL key dates – 2009:
Feb 20-22 - Proposed week one NAB Cup
Mar 14 - Proposed NAB Cup Grand Final
Mar 27-29 - Round one
Jun 12-14 and Jun 19 - 21 - Proposed split round
Aug 28-30 - Round 22
Sep 4-6 - Week One, Toyota AFL Finals Series
Sep 26 - Toyota AFL Grand Final