Ticket sales for the clash at Westpac Stadium in Wellington ticked over 16,000 on Thursday morning, a figure AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan said was "encouraging".
"Obviously we want a good crowd so there's a good atmosphere to exhibit our code well," he said on Thursday.
According to McLachlan, there are all sorts of objectives for the AFL in playing the game in the New Zealand capital.
"Long term, there will be a whole series of things such as being a beachhead to grow the participation numbers in New Zealand and that flows into talent and commercial opportunities," McLachlan said.
"Hopefully it's a great game with a good crowd, which makes it a showcase event and hopefully it says something about our game and our brand that we are playing internationally for premiership points."
Both teams leave Australia on Tuesday to prepare for the game, which starts at 7.50pm local time (5.50AEST) On Thursday. It will be televised live on Fox Footy, immediately after the Collingwood-Essendon clash.
