Afl To Decide Home For Cup Final

The Age

Friday October 31, 2008

MICHAEL GLEESON

THE side that kicks the most goals through the NAB Cup will no longer earn the right to host the grand final.

The choice of grand final venue will be decided by the AFL and will be chosen with an eye to attracting the largest crowd possible.

The previous rule, which sought to encourage sides to be attacking throughout the cup to earn a competitive advantage, was scrapped in favour of the biggest crowd and TV audience.

The release of the NAB Cup draw for next year also confirmed that an official game would be played in South Africa next year.

The opening match of the cup will be played at Newlands in Cape Town on February7 between Collingwood and West Coast.

It will be the second time South Africa has hosted an official pre-season game. Brisbane Lions and Fremantle played there in 1998.

Early this year, Fremantle and Carlton played an exhibition match in Johannesburg but the AFL has lifted the status of the game for next year, confirming the Cape Town game yesterday.

The opening round of the NAB Cup will be staged over three weekends for the first time to allow, the AFL said, for superior television coverage as well as to better schedule games in the evening due to the summer heat.

An attempt was also made to make sure the first round of the knock-out competition would feature match-ups between teams that will not play one another twice during the 2009 home-and-away season.

The NAB Cup will also be played in Canberra, Launceston and Darwin.

The grand final is to be played on Saturday, March14.

2009 NAB CUP

ROUND 1

February 7

Collingwood v West Coast,

Cape Town.

February 13

W Bulldogs v Essendon,

TIO Stadium.

February 14

Brisbane Lions v St Kilda,

Gold Coast Stadium.

February 15

Fremantle v Richmond, Subiaco.

February 20

Carlton v North Melb,

Telstra Dome.

February 21

Hawthorn v Melbourne,

Aurora Stadium.

Geelong v Adelaide,

Telstra Dome.

February 22

Sydney v Port Adelaide,

Manuka Oval.

ROUND 2

February 27 - March 1.

ROUND 3 March 6-7.

GRAND FINAL March 14.

© 2008 The Age

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