First Western Derby at Perth Stadium : Fremantle Dockers v West Coast
The first ever Western Derby at Perth Stadium will be hosted by the Fremantle Dockers, the FFC reported tonight.
The first AFL Home and Away game at the stadium will be hosted by West Coast, who will play arch rivals the Sydney Swans, West Coast reported tonight on their club website.
That game will be a massive Sunday Twilight Game, set to be a sellout event and broadcast on 7 in Perth and Foxtel in the rest of Australia.
Western Derby 47 will be played to a massive full house at the new Perth Stadium at Burswood, hosted by the Fremantle Football Club.
The Dockers also said that they will host the Essendon Bombers, the first AFL night game at Perth Stadium; with the arena expected to be bathed in purple LED lights.
The announcement came as the Dockers rolled out it’s 2018 membership marketing initiatives.
In an historic move, the Fremantle Dockers will allow the Gold Coast Suns to play a “home game” at Perth Stadium, in 2018, with their home ground out of action for the Commonwealth Games. The Gold Coast are set to rake in millions from the deal that will see Freo taking a week away from interstate travel.
Breaking News from Fremantle:
The Fremantle Dockers will play four of their first six games at home at Perth Stadium next year, including hosting the first ever derby to be played at the new-world class venue in round six of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
Fremantle’s first home game at Perth Stadium in 2018 will be a round two blockbuster clash with Essendon on a Saturday night in the first ever AFL game under lights at the new venue.
The night-time home game in round two against the Bombers will also be the first nationally broadcast AFL game on free to air TV from Perth Stadium.
Fremantle CEO Steve Rosich said in addition to successfully bidding for the Gold Coast “away” game the club had also lobbied the AFL long and hard to secure the right to play round one of the 2018 season at Perth Stadium.
“On behalf of our members and supporters, we mounted a strong and detailed business case to secure the round one game at Perth Stadium in 2018, and on this occasion the AFL has decided to stick with the regular cycle of round one being rotated between the two WA clubs on a year-by-year basis,” Rosich said.
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“What it does mean in the longer-term is that on that basis we are due to play the round one season opener at Perth Stadium in 2019.
“In the shorter-term, our members and supporters can look forward to our first home game of the 2018 AFL season at Perth Stadium being a round two clash with Essendon on Saturday night in the first ever game under lights at Perth Stadium and what will also be the first nationally broadcast AFL game on free to air TV from the new stadium.
Related: AFLW to open footy at Perth Stadium
“The Essendon blockbuster will be followed a week later by our historic ‘away’ game against the Suns at our new home ground.
“We are also thrilled with the prospect of hosting our first ever annual Len Hall Game at Perth Stadium in round five and being able to incorporate the venue’s cutting edge lighting and audio facilities into our Anzac commemoration ceremony.
“The fourth of our first six games to be played at home at Perth Stadium next year is against West Coast in round six, which is an exciting opportunity for our members and supporters to be part of history and ensure we dominate crowd support at the first ever Fremantle home derby played at Perth Stadium.
“We are very happy to be playing four of our first six games at home, including our first ever home derby at the new venue, our first home game and blockbuster clash with Essendon under lights, and what will be the first ever Len Hall Game at the stadium.
Breaking News from West Coast:
“We’re really excited that the AFL is giving us the opportunity to showcase the first game at the new stadium,” West Coast Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett said tonight.
“It is a great outcome and will give our members who have supported us over the last 31 years the opportunity to usher in a new era at the best stadium in the southern hemisphere.
“We are thrilled to be playing Sydney, one of our great rivals, in what should be a wonderful launch for football at the new stadium.
“It has obviously been a big week in football, this decision coming just four days after the historic user agreement was signed last Sunday.”
Fremantle Dockers announcement
