Fremantle will open their finals campaign next Thursday, the club has confirmed.
On Monday morning, the Dockers revealed their qualifying final against Hawthorn at Optus Stadium will start at 6.10pm on September 3, marking the first final the club have played on a Thursday in their history.
The scheduling ensures the minor premiers will have a longer break before their second final than their opponents, with the second qualifying final between Sydney and Brisbane likely to be played on Friday before elimination finals are staged on Saturday.
Fremantle will take on the Hawks after Sam Mitchell’s side fell short of notching the required percentage boost to leapfrog the Lions into third against West Coast on Sunday night, despite beating the Eagles by 62 points.
Tickets for the game will go on sale on Thursday, with ‘priority one’ members having access from 10am and ‘priority two’ from 11am before general public access opens up from 3pm with Ticketmaster.
The club broke an AFL record by playing in front of nine consecutive home crowds of more than 50,000 people at the back-end of the home and away season and their first final is almost certain to be a sell-out.
The Dockers’ only clash with the Hawks in the home-and-away season also fell on a Thursday night at Optus Stadium, with ‘Wharfie Time’ becoming a national phenomenon as they stormed back from a fourth-quarter deficit to win by 15 points in round nine.
Fremantle will progress directly into a home preliminary final and secure another weekend off if they beat Hawthorn.
But defeat would plunge them into a do-or-die semifinal against the winner of the elimination final between Geelong and the lower-ranked of the two sides which emerge from this weekend’s wildcard round.
