The AFL tonight confirmed the fixture for week one of the 2016 Toyota AFL Finals Series, to be as follows (all times are local):

Thursday September 8

Second Elimination Final, West Coast Eagles v Western Bulldogs at Domain Stadium, 6.10pm (8.10pm EST)

Friday September 9

Second Qualifying Final, Geelong Cats v Hawthorn at the MCG, 7.50pm

Saturday September 10

First Qualifying Final, Sydney Swans v GWS Giants at ANZ Stadium, 3.20pm

Saturday September 10

First Elimination Final, Adelaide Crows v North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval, 7.10pm (7.40pm EST)

All matches in week one of the Toyota AFL Finals Series will be broadcast live nationally on the Seven Network, Fox Footy and thanks to Telstra, the official AFL Live App.

Travis Auld, the AFL Executive Team Member responsible for the fixture, said the AFL had placed the Sydney Swans v GWS Giants Qualifying Final on Saturday at ANZ Stadium as the best option to ensure access for the 65,000 members of the two clubs. The Sydney Swans would also have the option of playing in the Friday night Preliminary Final on September 23 as the highest-ranked team, if successful.

The placement of the ANZ Stadium game then also required that the Adelaide Crows v North Melbourne match be played on Saturday, as a night game at Adelaide Oval, so that the loser of the First Qualifying Final and the winner of the First Elimination Final would have the same preparation period going into week two finals.

Mr Auld said a Thursday final in Perth and Friday final in Melbourne at the MCG for sides 6/7 and 2/3 was the best combination of matches from that side of the finals draw to maximise both attendances at the respective games and the ability of viewers to watch.

While the winner of the Second Elimination Final will have one-day longer to prepare for the second week of finals than the loser of the Second Qualifying Final, either the Geelong Cats or Hawthorn will have a seven-day preparation before the second week of the Toyota AFL Finals Series.

The Toyota AFL Finals Series will open with matches in three separate states and Toyota Australia President Dave Buttner said the AFL’s premier partner was eagerly awaiting the journey to the 2016 Toyota AFL Grand Final, to be played at the MCG on Saturday October 1.

“As the major sponsor of the AFL for 13 consecutive years, we at Toyota Australia are more excited than ever about the start of the 2016 Finals Series,” Mr Buttner said.

“The AFL is a powerful force for bringing people together and we expect there will be a lot of heart, sweat and tears as the teams battle it out to achieve Premiership glory.

“We wish all eight teams who are taking part in the finals the very best of luck and look forward to seeing a great game of footy at the Toyota AFL Grand Final in October.'

The AFL is working very closely with its official airline partner, Virgin Australia, to ensure as many fans as possible are able to travel to interstate Finals. Thousands of additional seats have already been added to their flight schedule in anticipation of the increased demand throughout the AFL Finals Series. Match day ticket information for all games across the country can be sourced at afl.com.au/finals.

Fans can secure their flight, accommodation and match ticket packages for all matches in week 1 of the finals through the AFL Travel – the AFL’s official travel provider.

Visit www.afltravel.com.au/finals for all details

Earlier this week, the AFL announced the introduction of a national $35 entry level ticket for weeks one and two of the 2016 Toyota AFL Finals Series.

The price cut to entry-level tickets will be applied at all venues with fans around the country having the opportunity to purchase a finals ticket at the lowest price in some instances for up to 15 years. The $35 ticket was part of a significant pricing restructure which would see the entry level reserved seat category drop from $40 at the MCG (to the lowest price since 2001), from $40 at the Adelaide Oval, $48 at Domain Stadium, and $45 at ANZ Stadium. 

The entry level reserved seat category for preliminary finals matches has also been lowered to $65 across all venues.

For the first time in three years, the price of other ticketing categories will rise slightly in weeks 1-3.