AFLW to kick off in Geelong in 2019 under conference system
Carlton have been bumped from the opening slot of the AFLW season in 2019 with the season to be kicked off in Geelong when the Cats host Collingwood at GMHBA Stadium on the first Saturday in February.
A second game will be played on opening night with the two premiership teams from the first two seasons, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, to play each other at Norwood with the season stretching over seven home-and-away games and two finals.
Entry will remain free for all games with the the Blues opening their season on Sunday, February 3 against North Melbourne in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Kangaroos fixtured to play two games in Tasmania in 2019.
The grand final will be played on either March 30 or 31, which coincides with round two of the AFL season and there will be just three Friday night games and three five-day breaks for teams.
The AFLW fixture for 2019, officially launched at Victoria Park on Friday, will consist of two conferences with five teams. Ladder positions from last season determined the make-up of the conference while the Cats and the Kangaroos were each placed in separate conferences as they enter the competition.
Conference A includes the Western Bulldogs, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle and North Melbourne while conference B consists of the Brisbane Lions, Greater Western Sydney, Collingwood, Carlton and Geelong.
Teams will play each sidet from their own conference once and three teams from the other conference, with the teams filling the top two ladder positions from each conference playing in the preliminary finals ahead of the grand final.
The conference system means there will be two ladders in AFLW next year with each preliminary final hosted by the teams that finish on top of their conference. A decision on which team then hosts the grand final is set to be based on their points and, if necessary, percentage at the end of the season.
The AFL remains confident a broadcast deal will be struck with their broadcast partners, Channel Seven and Foxtel, with an official announcement expected within the next fortnight.
Industry sources suggest a two-year deal will be struck with Saturday night games likely to be broadcast live.
Head of AFLW Nicole Livingstone said at the launch that the broadcast deal was still being worked on but an announcement is expected soon.
"I'm sure in season No.3 [the game] will reach homes in Australia. The coverage is increasing in terms of radio interest so I'm looking forward to increasing coverage of AFLW in the future," Livingstone said.
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