Source :- THE AGE NEWS
A Western Bulldogs-Collingwood showdown on Friday night and Melbourne-Carlton clash 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 would be played in each timeslot until after Hawthorn’s big win against West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday night.
That was relevant to the wildcard fixture because the fifth-place team (Geelong) will play the ladder’s lowest advancing team in an elimination final the following week, while sixth (Adelaide) will play the higher-ranked team of the winners.
Hawthorn’s win on Sunday night meant the Hawks finished fourth.
The AFL also announced times and dates for the elimination and qualifying finals on Monday morning.
THE MATCH-UPS
- Friday, 28th August: Wildcard final – Western Bulldogs v Collingwood. MCG, 7.40pm
- Saturday, 29th August: Wildcard final – Melbourne v Carlton. MCG, 7.35pm
- Thursday, 3rd September: Qualifying final – Fremantle v Hawthorn. Optus Stadium, 8.10pm.
- Friday, 4th September: Elimination final – Geelong v Western Bulldogs/Collingwood/Carlton (lowest-ranked winner of wildcard finals). MCG, 7.40pm.
- Saturday, 5th September: Sydney v Brisbane. SCG, 3.15pm.
- Saturday, 5th September: Adelaide v Melbourne/Western Bulldogs/Collingwood (highest-ranked winner of wildcard finals). Adelaide Oval, 7.35pm. All times are AEST
Because all wildcard teams are Victorian, a Hawks win on Sunday night meant one team would have to travel to Adelaide – which caused the delay in the wildcard announcement as it worked through fixturing for the next week of the finals series.
Watson takes jaw-dropping mark as Hawks crush Eagles
Jack Gunston kicked five goals in his 300-game milestone and Nick Watson took a spectacular mark of the year contender as Hawthorn’s bid to snare third spot fell just short in a 62-point win over West Coast in Perth.
Hawthorn entered Sunday night’s match needing to win in the vicinity of 90-100 points to leapfrog Brisbane into third spot.
That would have meant the Hawks (15-6-2) would face the decimated Swans in Sydney in the first qualifying final instead of minor premiers Fremantle in Perth.
Things were looking good for Hawthorn when they skipped out to an 83-25 lead midway through the third quarter following Watson’s moment of magic.
Aptly nicknamed The Wizard, Watson leapt onto the shoulders of Liam Baker and pushed off powerfully with his legs to take a spectacular midair mark before crashing to the turf.
In the immediate aftermath, Baker and Watson smiled at each other in disbelief as they soaked up the moment, with Watson giving his opponent a hug after nailing the shot.
But the wet and slippery conditions meant Hawthorn always faced an uphill battle to push the margin towards triple figures, with the Hawks forced to eventually settle for a 16.11 (107) to 6.9 (45) win in front of 43,066 fans at Optus Stadium.
Hawthorn still finished fourth, earning a finals double chance for the first time since 2018.
