October GF likely: AFLBy Jennifer Witham
Tue 06 July, 2010THE 2011 grand final is likely to be held on the first day of October, with cricket commitments at key grounds expected to prevent the start date of the season being brought forward.
Cricket Australia will still be using the MCG, SCG and the Gabba in the week of March 17, 2011, meaning these venues will be unavailable for AFL matches.
With Carrara Stadium also set to be unavailable in the early part of the season due to redevelopment work, the AFL believes it best to start the season the following week despite pushing the grand final out of its traditional month of September.
"The AFL is still working through the start date for the 2011 year, but we may require to play into October for next year, which would place the 2011 Toyota AFL Grand Final on Saturday, October 1," AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan said on Tuesday.
"We fully respect the commitments that Cricket Australia has in March and it was the AFL's view that it was not appropriate that we begin the season without the use of three key grounds, which are still required to be available for cricket at that time of the year."
The League will continue discussions with Cricket Australia but it is not expected the start of the season will be brought forward.
Only the SCG (and Carrara) will be unavailable for round one, which is expected to run from Thursday, March 24, to Sunday, March 27.
The redevelopment of Carrara has added to the difficulty of moving start of the season, as it would mean up to half of the clubs would require an away game in the first few rounds.
However, the fixture that would see the grand final moved is expected to be required for next year only, with the introduction of the 18th team in 2012 to reduce the length of the season by one week.
"When Team GWS is set to join the competition as the 18th club, there will not be the requirement to schedule byes into the season and, as per this year, we will only require 23 weeks to play 22 rounds of matches," McLachlan said.
The AFL has written to each of the 17 AFL clubs and the League's broadcast partners, as well as venues and other key parties to outline the likely dates for next season's fixture and to seek their input.
Parties have until Monday, August 2, to respond to the proposed dates.
It is expected the fixture will be completed in mid to late October, but it has already started to take shape, with a number of options available to schedule the 187 home-and-away matches.
Each club will have two byes across a 24-week season before the commencement of the finals.
"We can play the season under one model which has 22 weeks with a standard eight matches, with one team having a bye for each of those 22 rounds, along with one round where five matches are played with seven teams having byes and one round where six matches are played with five teams having byes," McLachlan said.
"We can also play the season under a model whereby we play 19 rounds of eight matches per week, and then five rounds of seven matches per week where three teams have a bye each week for those rounds."
The letter sent to the clubs and partners also set out the key parameters of the broadcasting agreement and the considerations for the clubs and their contractual obligations, such as player welfare issues, six-day break minimums and travel.
The likely key dates for each part of the 2011 season have been advised as follows:NAB Cup Rd1 over two weekends - February 12 and 19, 2011
NAB Cup Grand Final Weekend of March 12, 2011
Toyota AFL Premiership Season - Rd1 Thurs, March 24 to Sun, March 27, 2011
Easter - Rd5 Thurs, April 21 to Mon, April 25, 2011
Anzac Day - Rd5 Mon, April 25 (also Easter Monday)
Mother's Day - Rd7 Sun, May 7, 2011
Queens' Birthday (exc. WA) - Rd12 Mon, June 12, 2011
Toyota AFL Premiership Season - Rd24 Fri, September 2 to Sun, September 4, 2011
Toyota AFL Finals - Wk1 Fri, September 9, 2011
Toyota AFL Grand Final Sat, October 1, 2011
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