Weltnachrichten – AU – AFL 2021: Blockbusters are in abundance in the first six rounds

The AFL has planned a number of blockbusters and will use the burgeoning time slot on Thursday evening in the first six rounds of the home and next year’s campaign.

While the full schedule for 22 rounds over 23 weeks was published on Monday, only the first six rounds with time windows were completed due to the risk of another season affected by coronaviruses.

There are five games on Thursday night in a row to kick off the campaign, starting with traditional rivals Carlton and Richmond clashing on Jan.. March, during 14 of the 18 clubs will perform in the marquee time slots on Thursday or Friday evenings for the first six weeks.

The Tigers will reveal their flags for 2019 and 2020 in round one at the MCG, while other key games in the first six rounds are Essendon v Hawthorn in round one, Carlton v Collingwood in round two, Geelong v Hawthorn in round three Easter, Sydney against the Giants in round five, the Giants against Western Bulldogs in round six and Collingwood against Essendon on Anzac Day, also in round six.

The Brisbane Lions and Collingwood clash at the Gabba on Easter Sunday, while there’s a double headed ball on Good Friday when North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs meet at Marvel Stadium while the Crows battle the Gold Coast in Adelaide.

In rounds one and two there will also be AFL and AFLW double headers. The time slots for games after the sixth round will be confirmed at the beginning of the season.

In a notable year in which the 2020 campaign had to take place largely outside of Victoria due to COVID-19 issues, AFL club and broadcaster manager Travis Auld once again warned the industry of the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, most recently have resurfaced in Sydney.

« We must not lose sight of the ongoing pandemic. We will remain diligent and take every precaution, both in the clubs during the week and in the stadiums on matchday, to ensure that the health and wellbeing of all continues to be paramount. « Key priority, » he said.

« Planning the game in blocks provides an additional level of flexibility in customizing where needed. As our last season demonstrated, our clubs and the industry have the resilience and openness to adapt when necessary to keep the fans off the ground. « 

Collingwood (14 games, including five « away ») has the most games at the MCG, while Richmond has 13. All teams have at least one game on site.

Beyond the first six rounds, the AFL has planned to split the Sir Doug Nicholls round into rounds 11 and 12. These include games in Darwin and Alice Springs as well as the Dreamtime Game and Marn Grook competition in Sydney. Cairns will later host a home game for St. Be kilda against the crows.

« We’re starting the 2021 season with renewed optimism and we’re focused on delivering a blockbuster schedule to the fans for the season opener, » said Auld.

« It is a testament to the success of the AFL’s equalization policies that so many different clubs are included in marquee time slots. The competitiveness of a team and the ability to win every day gave us great confidence in the distribution of the marquee time slots at the start of the season.

« The first six weeks look as exciting as any other season in memory. We know fans look forward to the return of the AFL season, and there is a lot to look forward to, whether watching games or watching the broadcast. « 

Auld said it was important to start the season planning games in the cities and states that were largely without football due to the pandemic.

« Bringing foot back to the capital cities, which have faced a very uncertain and challenging time this year due to the COVID pandemic, will not only benefit the fans in these states but also the teams themselves who haven’t have played up front being uplifting from the crowd for basically an entire season, « he said.

Jon Pierik is a cricket writer for The Age. He also reports on AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.

Australian Football League, 2021, Geelong Football Club, Collingwood Football Club, Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne Football Club, Greater Western Sydney Giants, West Coast Eagle, Brisbane Lions, Richmond Football Club