Adelaide will finish the minor round with a night game against West Coast on Saturday, August 31.
The AFL finalised the ‘floating’ Round 23 fixture on Tuesday. The Crows v Eagles clash, which will start at 7:40pm (SA time), is one of two Saturday night matches, with Essendon and Richmond also to do battle at the MCG. A total of five games will played on the Saturday.
The schedule of Round 23 games will be as follows (local time and host broadcaster in each case):
Friday August 30
Sydney Swans v Hawthorn at ANZ Stadium, 7.50pm (Channel 7)
Saturday August 31
St Kilda v Fremantle at Etihad Stadium, 1.45pm (Channel 7)
Geelong Cats v Brisbane Lions at Simonds Stadium, 2.10pm (Foxtel / Fox Sports)
Port Adelaide v Carlton at AAMI Stadium, 4.10pm (Foxtel / Fox Sports)
West Coast Eagles v Adelaide Crows at Patersons Stadium, 6.10pm (Foxtel / Fox Sports)
Essendon v Richmond at the MCG, 7.40pm (Channel 7)
Sunday September 1
Gold Coast Suns v GWS Giants at Metricon Stadium, 1.10pm (Foxtel / Fox Sports)
Collingwood v North Melbourne at the MCG, 3.20pm (Channel 7)
Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, 4.40pm (Foxtel / Fox Sports)
The Round 23 fixture explained …
It was the AFL’s view that Hawthorn, as the top side currently on the premiership ladder after Round 18, should play on Friday night to allow the longest break before week one of the 2013 Toyota AFL Finals Series.
Fremantle, which is contending for a top-four position and is travelling in the final round, needed to play on Saturday afternoon so that it could return to its home state by that evening, as well as to maximise fixture options for week one of the Finals Series.
The Port Adelaide v Carlton match, which may see a contest for a lower spot in the top eight, was scheduled as a twilight fixture to also enable Carlton to return home that night, while Essendon v Richmond was scheduled for Saturday evening as both teams are in their home state.
Essendon v Richmond and Collingwood v North Melbourne, as the two MCG matches for the weekend, were placed on Saturday / Sunday to reflect the ladder positions of the competing clubs.
The three matches scheduled for Sunday September 1 feature only one team currently in the top eight at this point of the season (Collingwood) and the AFL has given fixture preference to Saturday matches to those teams higher on the ladder.
The schedule for week one of the 2013 Toyota AFL Finals Series will be announced on either Saturday night August 31, following the completion of the Saturday night matches, or on the evening of Sunday September 1.
