After all the carry on by Andy D that the season would start earlier and if we wanted to kick off round 1 we'd have to play at Etihad we get one all mighty backflip
==========
AFL abandons 'two byes' plan
5:45 PM Fri 27 Jul, 2012
Breaking news
THE AFL has been forced to backtrack on plans to institute two byes for the 2013 season, the League has confirmed.
Announcing the key dates for the 2013 fixture, the AFL said the season structure would be essentially unchanged from this year.
Next year's fixture will comprise 22 games over 23 rounds, with one bye per club.
The League had considered starting the season one week earlier to allow each club to have two byes, in accordance with a request from the AFL Players' Association.
But the AFL said the plan was unworkable because several grounds were unavailable due to cricket commitments.
The 2013 season will begin on Easter Thursday, March 28.
The Grand Final will again be played on the last Saturday of September.
The fixture will be completed in mid to late October, AFL General Manager Broadcasting, Scheduling and Legal Affairs Simon Lethlean said.
"The AFL did consider various options around starting the season one week earlier, to enable two byes for all clubs, but have not done so for the primary reason that a number of key venues are unavailable due to cricket commitments at the SCG, the MCG and the Gabba," Lethlean said.
As has been the case this season, a standard round will consist of one Friday night match, two Saturday afternoon matches, one Saturday twilight match, two Saturday night matches, one early Sunday match, one Sunday afternoon match and one Sunday twilight match.
More to come.
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/142844/default.aspx
