Weekend Headlines – Sat March 18 – Mon March 20, 2017
AFL
- AFLW – Melbourne v Fremantle – 2,500 (est) at Casey Fields
- AFLW – GWS v bulldogs – 6,460 at Manuka Oval, Sat TV
#AFLW 7mate#AFLWGiantsDogs 145k (99k Metro Regional 46k) - AFLW – Collingwood v Adelaide – 2,500 at Olympic Park
- AFLW – Carlton v Brisbane – 5,801 at Ikon Park
- Sat STV
#AFLW#FoxFooty#AFLWGiantsDogs 27k#AFLWDeesFreo 24k - Sun STV
#AFLW#FoxFooty#AFLWPiesCrows 64k#AFLWBluesLions 54k - AFL chief Gillon McLachlan has quashed speculation that the Grand Final could shift to a Sunday. “I can say definitely that it won’t be Sunday, and it’s ridiculous,” he told SEN Breakfast.
- FIVE days out from the AFL Women’s Grand Final, the history-making match is without a ground. Although a decision is expected Monday. Difficulties with Queensland Cricket – which has laid the blame for the delay at the feet pop of diva Adele and her fans – have led to a delay.
- SA’s Leigh Whicker wants the AFL Commission — that has not had an SA-based voice since Bob Hammond’s retirement in 2012 — to have state representatives, in particular one from Adelaide.
- Prices for standard food and drink items will be the same or lower compared with last year but Domain Stadium remains one of the most expensive in the AFL. A Western Sydney University study found last year that Domain Stadium sold the most expensive beer of 21 Australian sporting venues surveyed. This year a 425ml cup of Carlton Mid will set you back $8.50. Bundle your beer with a hot dog and you will be $15 out of pocket. The price of Cornetto ice creams has fallen from $5.50 to $5. Magnum ice-creams are also 50c cheaper at $5.50.
- Domain Stadium management will bid for the rights to host the International Rules series in November in an attempt to send the historic venue out on a high.
- Snapchat owner Snap Inc has signed a multi-year deal with the Australian Football League to produce “Our Stories” throughout for the competition and teams across the season. The crux of the deal is understood to be based on advertising revenue share. In it, Snapchat Our Stories will be put together by Snap, stitching together fan, athlete and league messages into one video. Each home stadium will also have geofilters.
- AFL clubs will enter the season with an equal salary cap for the first time in the history of the national competition after the extra salary cap space handed to Greater Western Sydney was wound back two years early.
- THE AFL is expecting fans to smash the single-round attendance record when the season explodes into life next week. League chiefs are predicting up to 400,000 people will pour through the turnstiles from Thursday night, blowing the old record — 371,212 in Round 15, 2013 — out of the water.
- The AFL today announced Musson Jewellers will produce 23 custom-made Premiership Rings for the
@aflwomens winning team and coach.#aflwomens - ETIHAD Stadium management is confident the turf will be up to AFL standard in time for round one, despite back-to-back concerts being held at the venue in the last fortnight.
A-league
- HAL – Melb City v Newcastle – 8,949 at Aami Park, Sat STV
#ALeague#FoxSports#MCYvNEW 45k - HAL – Adelaide v Brisbane – 7,197 at Coopers Stadium, Sat STV 54,000
- HAL – Western Sydney v Wellington – 7,828 at Spotless Stadium – no STV figures yet.
- Plans for second division must be first class or risk failing admit Association of Australian Football Clubs
- FIFA’s Member Associations department is ramping up support for a large restructure of Australian football’s governance as Football Federation Australia comes under increasing pressure to relinquish control.
- Many questions remain to be answered as A-League and NPL clubs seek FFA deal.
- FourFourTwo understands the Sydney Amateur Football League (SAFL), which has been running for 70 years, is expected to shut down. The SAFL is one of the 18 associations under Football NSW’s control.
NRL
- NRL – Melb v Bris – 16,634 at Aami Park, Thu STV
#NRL#FoxSports#NRLStormBroncos 263k, Thu TV#NRL Nine/9Gem 904k Metro 554k (Syd 252k Bri 238k Mel 50k Ade 8k Per 5k) Regional 350k (Qld 149k Northern NSW 98k Southern NSW 84k) - NRL – Canterbury v NZ – 10,238 at Forsyth Barr, Fri STV
#NRL#FoxSports#NRLBulldogsWarriors 156k - NRL – Gold Coast v Parramatta – 11,612 at Cbus Super Stadium, Fri STV
#NRL#FoxSports#NRLTitansEels 216k, Fri TV#NRL Nine/9Gem#NRLTitansEels 678k Metro 412k (Syd 205k Bri 160k) Regional 266k - NRL – Newcastle v Souths – 15,212 at McDonald Jones Stadium, Sat STV
#NRL#FoxLeague#NRLKnightsSouths 231k - NRL – Penrith v Sydney – 11,044 at Pepper Stadium, Sat STV
#NRL#FoxLeague#NRLPanthersRoosters 255k - NRL – Nth Qld v Manly – 14,763 at 1300 Smiles Stadium, Sat STV
#NRL#FoxLeague#NRLCowboysManly 226k - NRL – Canberra v Wests – 14,628 at GIO Stadium, Sun STV
#NRL#FoxLeague#NRLRaidersTigers 210k - NRL – Cronulla v St George – 14,247 at Southern Cross Stadium, Sun STV
#NRL#FoxLeague#NRLSharksDragons 259k, Sun TV#NRL Nine/9Gem#NRLRaidersTigers 540k (Metro 305k Regional 235k) - Fox League was the dominant STV Channel this week, returning to number 1, with 7 of the top 10 sports broadcasts (the other 3 were cricket)
- Friday night’s trip to Queensland for the Parramatta Eels to take on the Gold Coast Titans failed to be a major attraction for Nine’s Sydney and Brisbane viewers on Friday night, with the NRL game failing to draw as big an audience as Seven News or Nine News in the two cities.
- Penn family doesn’t have numbers to oust Manly Sea Eagles chief executive Tim Cleary
- National Rugby League (NRL) team Sydney Roosters have renewed their longstanding partnership with poultry brand Steggles. The extended four-season deal will take the Roosters’ association with the brand to 12 consecutive seasons. Steggles will continue to be the team’s matchday and training shirt sponsor. In addition, the organisations will continue to work together on the Steggles Charity Nest, an initiative that has raised over AUD $2.5million (US$1.9 million) to support a range of children’s charities.
Super-Rugby
- Fri STV
#SuperRugby#FoxSports#CRUvBLU 28k - Fri STV
#SuperRugby#FoxSports#REBvCHI 53k - Sat STV
#SuperRugby#FoxSports#WARvBRU 67k - Sat STV
#SuperRugby#FoxSports#HURvHIG 42k - Eastwood Rugby’s sale of TG Millner Field very sad, but necessary for club’s survival
- Super Rugby, where impenetrable logic meets immovable Force
- AN estimated 60 Australian players are stuck in contract limbo by the drawn-out Super Rugby saga and it’s feared one-third could go overseas or be left in professional purgatory due to the uncertainty.
General
- Sat TV
#EPL#SBS West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal 85k (Metro 61k Regional 24k) - Sat TV
#SuncorpSuperNetball#Nine Game 11 Metro 84k Regional 46k - Just how much trouble is Ten in? (Answer: A lot more than you probably realise)
- New sports media brand 20Four is to launch next month giving fans behind-the-scenes looks into the lives of sporting stars.