A Western Bulldogs-Collingwood showdown on Friday night and Melbourne to take on Carlton the following night will feature in the AFL’s inaugural wildcard weekend.
The Bulldogs’ upset win over the Demons on Saturday and Adelaide’s thumping of the Giants later that night confirmed the match-ups.
The AFL waited to announce which match will be played in each timeslot until after Hawthorn’s big win against West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday night.
That is relevant to the wildcard fixture because the team that finishes fifth will play the ladder’s lowest advancing team, while sixth will play the higher-ranked team of the winners.
THE MATCH-UPS
- Friday, 28th August:Wildcard Final - Western Bulldogs v Collingwood. MCG, 7.40pm AEST
- Saturday, 29th August:Wildcard Final - Melbourne v Carlton. MCG, 7.35pm AEST
Hawthorn’s win tonight mean the Hawks finish fourth with the Cats fifth and Adelaide sixth.
Because all wildcard teams are Victorian, the likely outcome of a Hawks win on Sunday night would mean one team would have to travel to Adelaide – which caused the delay in the league’s wildcard announcement as it works through potential fixturing for the next week of the finals series.