The AFL round 19 schedule has been flipped on its head with three matchups brought forward by a week, including a top of the table clash between Melbourne and the Dogs.
The ladder-leading Demons will host the Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday night, while Brisbane will play Gold Coast at the Gabba earlier in the day.
The other round 20 match that has now been brought forward to round 19 is Adelaide’s clash with Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
The three matches that were previously set for this round (Gold Coast v Melbourne, Western Bulldogs v Adelaide, and Hawthorn v Brisbane) will now be played next week.
The timeslots and venues for those matches will be announced at a later date.
In other changes to the round 19 fixture, Sydney’s match against Fremantle will now be played at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday, not GMHBA Stadium in Victoria on Saturday.
Essendon’s clash with GWS, which was originally scheduled for Marvel Stadium on Saturday, has now been switched to Sunday, with a venue and time yet to be confirmed.
The Bombers and Giants remain in Queensland.
Carlton’s match against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium has been switched from Sunday to Saturday.
The grand final rematch between Geelong and Richmond will still go ahead at the MCG on Sunday as originally planned, despite the Cats wanting it to be moved to GMHBA Stadium.
West Coast’s clash with St Kilda will go ahead in Perth on Saturday, but it has now been brought forward by three hours to 4.35pm EST.
AFL fixturing boss Travis Auld said the league is committed to completing the home-and-away season as set out in the original match-ups – albeit with the order of the fixtures changed in some instances.
“We will continue to make changes that best manage the current environment, progresses our season and protects the health and safety of those in our game and the wider community,” Auld said.
“While the round in which some matches will be played has changed, our intention remains to complete the home-and-away season with the match-ups as originally scheduled.
“The pandemic will continue to challenge us over the coming weeks and, as an industry, we will band together and remain adaptable as we navigate those challenges.”
AFL ROUND 19 FIXTURES (all times EST)
FRIDAY
Port Adelaide v Collingwood at Adelaide Oval, 7.10pm
SATURDAY
Carlton v North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, 1.45pm
Brisbane Lions v Gold Coast at the Gabba, 3.10pm
West Coast v St Kilda at Optus Stadium, 4.35pm
Adelaide v Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval, 6.10pm
Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at MCG, 7.25pm
SUNDAY
Sydney v Fremantle at Metricon Stadium, 12.30pm
Geelong Cats v Richmond at MCG, (time TBC)
Essendon v GWS (TBC)
AAP
