The AFL tonight confirmed the fixture for week one of the 2017 Toyota AFL Finals Series, to be as follows (all times are local):

Thursday September 7
First Qualifying Final, Adelaide Crows v GWS Giants at Adelaide Oval, 7.20pm ACST / 7.50pm AEST

Friday September 8
Second Qualifying Final, Geelong Cats v Richmond at the MCG, 7.50pm AEST

Saturday September 9
Second Elimination Final, Sydney Swans v Essendon at the SCG, 4.20pm AEST
First Elimination Final, Port Adelaide v West Coast at Adelaide Oval, 7.20pm ACST / 7.50pm AEST

All matches in week one of the Toyota AFL Finals Series will be broadcast live nationally on the Seven Network, Fox Footy and thanks to Telstra, the official AFL Live App.

Travis Auld, the AFL Executive Team Member responsible for the fixture, said the AFL was seeking to maximise both match day attendance and television viewership for all finals and had again chosen to open the Finals Series with a Thursday night match, after the success of last year’s first-ever game in this timeslot with both attendance and television viewership.

It was decided the opening final would be played at Adelaide Oval with seven previous Thursday night games at the venue hosted by Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows over the last four seasons having averaged nearly 44,000 fans per game.

The placement of the First Qualifying Final on Thursday was done with Adelaide Crows having finished in top position, and given the right to open the finals.

The second Qualifying Final between the Geelong Cats and Richmond was scheduled for the Friday night, so that the teams in the top four who may lose their qualifying final would both be given the benefit of longer preparation periods going into the second week of the finals, compared to the teams which had finished 5-8.

The two Elimination Finals between the Sydney Swans / Essendon and Port Adelaide / West Coast were respectively scheduled for Saturday September 9.

Earlier this week, the AFL announced a price freeze of the national entry level ticket for every week of the 2017 Toyota AFL Finals Series, including the 2017 Toyota AFL Grand Final.

After introducing the historical reduction on entry level prices in 2016, the AFL continued its commitment to affordability for fans by freezing entry level prices nationally, across all games at all venues for the upcoming showcase matches of the season.

The entry level reserved seat category for weeks one and two remains at $35, week three (preliminary finals) matches have been frozen at $65, and the 2017 Toyota AFL Grand Final remains at $180.

This follows the previously announced allocation of an additional 4,000 tickets to the competing club members for the 2017 Toyota AFL Grand Final.

The AFL is working very closely with its official airline partner, Virgin Australia, to ensure as many fans as possible are able to travel to interstate Finals. Thousands of additional seats have already been added to their flight schedule in anticipation of the increased demand throughout the AFL Finals Series. Match day ticket information for all games across the country can be sourced at afl.com.au/finals.

Fans can secure their flight, accommodation and match ticket packages for all matches in week 1 of the finals through the AFL Travel – the AFL’s official travel provider.