The AFL fixture will expand to 23 games in 2023, with the league set to confirm South Australia as the host of the ‘Magic Round’.
News Corp first reported South Australia had beaten New South Wales for the rights to hold the new showcase weekend, which will see all nine games played in Adelaide and its surrounds including the Barossa Valley.
It’s expected six games will be played at Adelaide Oval, with SANFL venues and other regions in the mix to host the other games.
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Round 5 is the likely date for the Magic Round, replacing a second week of pre-season games, with clubs to be given around $500,000 for the extra match, reports Seven.
The round would begin on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval, with the famous ground likely to host a Friday night game plus two more on Saturday and Sunday.
Gillon McLachlan is expected to announce full details on Friday; the league is unlikely to call it the ‘Magic Round’.
“We want as many people as possible travelling to our state and we believe we can host it better than anyone else in the country,” SA premier Peter Malinauskas said on SEN last week.
“I’m a footy fan but my objective is more of an economic one, to get our hotel rooms filled up, get our restaurants chock-a-block and for the people watching on TV across the nation, a chance to showcase who we are and what we have to offer.
“We see this as a chance to get a different demographic to South Australia to have an experience because of their footy team, then have a positive experience in the state more broadly and hopefully coming back.”
It means 2023 will be the first 23-game AFL season, almost certainly running across 24 rounds (including a bye).
The VFL-AFL season has run for 22 games since 1970, when the season grew to allow a full home and away round-robin to be held amongst the 12 clubs.
When the competition expanded to 14 teams with the additions of Brisbane and West Coast in 1987, the season remained at 22 games despite a double round-robin no longer being achievable.
Future expansion saw the number of rounds increase at times, seeing 24-round seasons held including bye weeks, as most recently in 2011.
Since 2012, with the introduction of GWS as the 18th club, there have been 23 rounds and 22 games (with the shortened 18-round 2020 Covid season excepted).
The Magic Round format has been held successfully in the NRL though that code has traditionally struggled with attendance, unlike the AFL.
