The MCG is playing host to the AFLW for the first time this weekend as the league enters the season’s preliminary finals. Not only is it the first time that women’s footy will play a full game on the hallowed ground, but it’s likely going to be the cheapest ticket to the footy you’ll cop all year.
Why? Because it’s absolutely free. Zero bucks. Nada. Nothing. Zilch.
The preliminary final between the Melbourne Demons and reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions is set to kick the dew off the grass of the massive stadium at 12:30pm EDT on Saturday, April 2.
Following that, the Adelaide Crows will host the Fremantle Dockers for their prelim a couple of hours later at Adelaide Oval (which is also free to get along to).
AFL General Manager for Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone said it’s taken years of planning to get the AFLW a run on the sport’s biggest stage. The fact it’s happening is truly a testament to the leaps and bounds the women’s league has made in the six years since its first bounce.
“Six years in the making, this weekend will mark a significant moment in Women’s football as our W players run out onto the hallowed turf of the MCG,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
“The history-making match between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions at the MCG and the exciting clash between Adelaide Crows and Fremantle at Adelaide Oval will be unmissable footy and is another example of the progression of the women’s competition over the years.”
So if you’re in Melbourne and keen to max out the amount of footy time this weekend, grab a cheeky lunch beer and park up at the ‘G for the first AFLW game to be played on the sacred turf. You’d be a bloody bozo not to, I reckon.
