GET ready for the Foxtel Cup after the pay-TV broadcaster joined forces with the AFL to televise a radical knockout-style football competition from next month.
The Australian football scene has undergone a massive restructuring over the past two years and this week's official release of fixtures for the new Foxtel Cup adds another layer to the code.
The newly branded Foxtel Cup will be a 16-team knockout competition comprising of teams from the second-tier leagues across Australia, including those from the Western Australian Football League (3), South Australian National Football League (3), Tasmanian Football League (1), Victorian Football League (3), Queensland Australian Football League (3), AFL Canberra (1) and Sydney AFL (1) plus the new AFL club, rugby league convert Israel Folau's GWS Giants.
The pay-TV provider and the AFL have been in talks over several months to bring about a competition featuring the top clubs outside the top-flight AFL competition.
Those teams include last year's WAFL premiers Swan Districts, defeated grand finalists Claremont and semi-finalist East Perth; last year's VFL premiers North Ballarat, runners-up Northern Bullants and finalist Williamstown; Sydney AFL premiers East Coast Eagles; Tasmanian Football League premiers Clarence; AFL Canberra premiers Ainslie, and QAFL premiers Morningside and runners-up Labrador.
QAFL side NT Thunder and the Giants received a special invitation to join the competition.
However, the highest ranked SANFL teams rejected the invitation, citing low prizemoney and sponsor conflicts. In their place will be West Adelaide (6th in 2010), North Adelaide (7th) and Port Adelaide (8th).
The competition will begin on March 26 and games will be played as AFL curtain-raisers. Games will be televised on Fox Sports.
Here's how the Foxtel Cup will play out:
Round 1:
Eight round 1 knockout matches to be played in the period between March 26-May 21. Each match to be played on a Saturday afternoon, with seven of the games to played as curtain-raisers to an AFL match, and one match as a stand-alone match at a State-league venue.
Round 2:
Four round 2 knockout matches to be played in the period between May 28-June 18. One game would be played per week on a Saturday afternoon, with the aim to play each match as a curtain-raiser to an AFL match or as a stand-alone match at a State-league venue.
Round 3:
Two knockout semi-final matches to be played over the weekends of July 9 and July 16. One game would be played per week on a Saturday afternoon, with the aim to play each match as a curtain-raiser to an AFL match or as a stand-alone match at a State-league venue.
Grand Final:
Grand Final to be played on Saturday, August 6. Venue to be determined dependent on the competing teams.
Here's how Round 1 will look:
Saturday, March 26: Morningside v NT Thunder @ Gabba, 4.05pm
Saturday, April 2: East Perth v North Ballarat @ Subiaco Oval (Subiaco), 5.35pm
Saturday, April 9: Swan Districts v Williamstown @ Subiaco Oval, 5.05pm
Saturday, April 16: West Adelaide v Ainslie, AAMI Stadium, 4.35pm
Saturday, April 23: Clarence v Claremont @ Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 7.35pm
Saturday, April 30: North Bullants v GWS Giants @ MCG 4.05pm
Saturday, May 14: East Coast Eagles v Port Adelaide Magpies @ SCG, 4.45pm
Saturday, May 21: Labrador v North Adelaide @ Gabba 4.45pm
And here's a link to the fixtrues of the Foxtel Cup.
THE Foxtel Cup comes on the back of the North East Australian Football League, which the AFL Commission signed off on last month (December 17).
The NEAFL is a competition encompassing 17 clubs and two US-style conferences from the Queensland Australian Football League (Northern Conference) and AFL Canberra (Eastern Conference).
The clubs come from Queensland (QAFL), New South Wales (Sydney AFL), the ACT (AFL Canberra) and the Northern Territory.
Each of those teams will play for premiership points in their respective leagues and will play 'cross over' matches with other conference sides.
Each conference will have their grand final with the Northern and Southern conference premiers playing off in a conference grand final.
Last Modified on 09/02/2011 18:21