NAB Challenge grounds announced

THE 2011 AFL pre-season competition will be spread wider than ever before with a record number of regional venues to host NAB Challenge matches in February and March.

The Adelaide suburb of Thebarton will host an AFL game for the first time at the oval where SANFL team Woodville-West Torrens plays, while the game will return to the Albury town of Lavington and to Coffs Harbour since 2006 and 2003 respectively.

Northern Territorians will be able to see a NAB Challenge game in Alice Springs and Canberrans will get one too if they don’t receive a NAB Cup match in round two of the main competition.

On the east coast, the game will travel to Southport in Queensland and Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania.

In Victoria, Shepparton will host a game and regular NAB Challenge hosts Casey Fields in Cranbourne East will see some action as the competition progresses.

North Ballarat’s Eureka Stadium – which was recently considered as a potential venue for North Melbourne to play home-and-away season games – will also host a match.

West Australian peninsula town Bunbury has been added to the list while a second South Australian venue will be considered closer to the start of the competition.

“The AFL has had a clear charter in the NAB Cup, but particularly in the NAB Challenge, to take matches to all parts of the country that don’t normally get the opportunity to see top-level football during the regular season,” AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan said.

McLachlan also said the AFL was extremely appreciative of the support of the respective state and regional leagues around the country in confirming venues for NAB Challenge matches, and the amount of preparation that had gone into arranging venues.

The indicative weekends for matches in the NAB Challenge fixture is as follows:

Week 1 – February 25-26, 2011
Alice Springs, Manuka Oval (unless scheduled for a NAB Cup match in this week) and South Australia, plus two Victorian venues that are yet to be decided.

Week 2 – March 4-5
Southport, Lavington, Bunbury and Shepparton, plus three Victorian venues that are yet to be decided.

Week 3 – March 11-12
Coffs Harbour, North Ballarat, Thebarton Oval and Aurora Stadium, plus one NSW venue and two Victorian venues that are yet to be decided.