SAVE THE DATES – footy is back in 2018!

With a new year, comes new footy seasons, this year starting earlier than ever with the NAB AFL Women’s Competition kicking off on February 2, in Melbourne.

2018 NAB AFL Women’s 

For AFL NSW/ACT fans, the first home game of the season will see the GWS GIANTS take on Carlton at Drummoyne Oval on Friday, February 9 at 7.05pm.

The GIANTS will play four of their seven matches (excluding any potential AFLW Grand Final) within the New South Wales and ACT region, with Blacktown International Sportspark hosting the defending AFLW Premiers, Adelaide on Sunday, February 25 and then 2017 Grand Finalists, Brisbane on Friday, March 16.

Canberra will again host the GIANTS’ match against the Western Bulldogs in Round 6 of the season on March 10. The corresponding match in 2017 draw the GIANTS’ largest hometown ground in 2017 with almost six and a half thousand fans turning out to support their team.

AFL NSW/ACT players with potential to make their AFLW debuts in 2018 include Nelson Bay’s Pippa Smyth, Hay/Canberra’s Jodie Hicks and Sydney’s Phoebe Monahan, Melissa Freckelton, Courtney Gum and Haneen Zreika. Fans will also be on the lookout for major  signings such as Alicia Eva, Rebecca Privitelli, Pepa Randall and Ladies Gaelic football legend, Cora Staunton.

The AFL Women’s Grand Final will be held during Round 1 of the 208 Toyota AFL Season, with dates and locations to be announced once the Grand Finalists are determined.

2018 AFL Community Camps

The Sydney Swans and GWS GIANTS will kick off their 2018 AFL Community Camp campaigns this February with the Swans beginning their tour over February 5-6 and the GIANTS starting from February 14.

With all 18 AFL Clubs participating, the 2018 AFL Community Camps will see over 750 players spending time meeting fans and developing stronger links between Australian Football and the community.

The two AFL NSW/ACT clubs will visit the following regions:

GWS GIANTS

• Greater Western Sydney suburbs (February 14)
• Wagga, Griffith, South Coast, Merimbula, Central West, Bathurst & Orange – NSW (February 28 – March 1)
• Canberra (February 28 – March 1)

SYDNEY SWANS

• Sydney metro, Terrigal, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Wollongong, Bowral, Coffs Harbour, Armidale & Tamworth – NSW (February 5-6)

*Dates and locations are subject to change with updates promoted accordingly.

AFLX

Amongst the second season of AFL Women’s, the AFL will be launching their newest version of the game, AFLX.

AFLX, the League’s high-octane version of the sport, will debut on February 15 in Adelaide, with the AFL including traditional soccer and rugby venues among the venues for three separate round-robin tournaments.

The modified game will be played in three cities across three nights, with six AFL clubs represented in each competition. Sydney will host ‘Pool C’ on Saturday, February 17 at Allianz Stadium, which will include the Sydney Swans, GWS GIANTS, Gold Coast, Brisbane, and the past two AFL Premiers, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs.

AFL General Manager of Game Development, Andrew Dillon said AFLX is an exciting alternative that could be used to take the game overseas.

“AFLX has been created to provide us with the options to play a form of the game in places where oval grounds are limited and to showcase our game internationally at a point in the future,” Dillon said.

“Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have each been chosen to host the individual tournaments with six clubs playing against each other in a round-robin format.

“The decision to hold three individual tournaments during the men’s 2018 pre-season period has been chosen to introduce clubs, their players, their fans and the wider public to the AFLX game.”

JLT Community Series

The JLT Community Series returnsin 2018 with a Thursday night match held in the nation’s capital. UNSW Canberra Oval will host the GWS GIANTS and Australia’s biggest club, Collingwood on March 1 at 7.10pm.

At the first Sydney Derby of 2018, the Sydney Swans and GWS GIANTS will face off at Blacktown International Sportspark on Friday, March 9 at 7.40pm.

The Swans will play their remaining JLT match in Queensland against Brisbane on March 3.

The JLT Community Series is well-known for clubs testing out their new recruits, so be sure to look out for the likes of AFL NSW/ACT’s Nicholas Shipley and Jack Buckley on GWS GIANTS teamlists, and Jake Brown and James Bell on the Swans’.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

• February 9 – AFL Women’s GWS GIANTS vs. Carlton AFL Women’s (Drummoyne)
• February 25 – AFL Women’s GWS GIANTS vs. Adelaide (Blacktown)
• March 1 – JLT Community Series GWS GIANTS vs. Collingwood (Canberra)
• March 10 – AFL Women’s GWS GIANTS vs. Western Bulldogs
• March 16 – AFL Women’s GWS GIANTS vs. Brisbane (Blacktown)
• February 17 – AFLX (Sydney)
• March 9 – JLT Community Series Sydney Swans vs. GWS GIANTS (Blacktown)
• See above for 2018 AFL Community Camp dates