The 2015 AFL Cairns season will commence on Friday, 10 April 2015, with an 18 round season – a shortened fixture due to the suspension of Manunda Hawks from the 2015 competition. The competing Clubs will still play in the same number of games (18) and each Club will play at Cazalys Stadium twice over the course of the home and away season.
Whilst the proper season gets underway with matches on Friday, 10 and Saturday, 11 April, Clubs will compete in the XXXX Gold Preseason competition on Saturday, 21 and Saturday, 28 March 2015, before a break over the Easter weekend in preparation for Round 1.
All Cairns based Clubs have transferred at least 1 home game to Cazalys Stadium, while Port Douglas will also
play twice at the leagues premier stadium as the away team. North Cairns and Centrals Trinity Beach will open the season at Cazalys Stadium, with a Friday night clash under lights, giving participants visiting the city for the National Kickstart and Diversity Championships the opportunity to see local footy at the AFL standard stadium as they prepare for their Championship campaigns. This carnival commences on Saturday, 11 April 2015.
The Round 1 Friday night fixture will be the first of two for the season, with the Grand Final rematch between
Cairns Saints and Port Douglas scheduled for Friday night in Round 3 on the eve of Anzac Day. The two matches on Anzac Day will see the tradition of South Cairns and North Cairns meeting, this year at Fretwell Park, whilst Centrals Trinity Beach will host Cairns City Lions at Crathern Park.
Holloways Beach based Cairns City Lions will host one Sunday match this season, in Round 8 for their annual
Dreamtime by the Sea encounter with North Cairns. Played in line with the AFL's Indigenous Round, the day
embraces the wider community and features traditional indigenous cultural activities, including Welcome to
Country and indigenous music and dance. The Sunday fixtures will see junior matches, from Under 6s to Under
15s, played in the morning prior to the Reserves then Seniors taking to the field.
2015 Representative Football for AFL Cairns players will once again be held in June, with a North Queensland
team to be selected from the Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhamption and Mt Isa regions. Cairns players made up over 75% of the NQ team in 2014 and will expect to account for around the same percentage of the side this year. Cairns players for NQ representative duties will again largely be selected from the Intra-League match between AFL Cairns All Stars and AFL Cairns Indigenous/South Pacific, which will take place on Wednesday, 13 May 2015.
Saturday, 11th July will be a general bye for all Clubs, allowing players, supporters and volunteers the opportunity to attend the Western Bulldogs v Gold Coast SUNS AFL match at Cazalys Stadium. A general bye will also take place after Round 15 to allow Clubs to freshen up before finals.
The 2015 season culminates with a top-four finals series at Cazalys Stadium in September.
In releasing the 18-round draw, AFL Cairns Operations Manager Melissa Dunstan, applauded the Clubs on their
desire to play matches at Cazalys Stadium over the course of the season and their initiative to move home
games to the leagues premier stadium. “Obviously the absence of Manunda Hawks from the competition in
2015 sees Cazalys Stadium vacant from a men's open age competition perspective, so it's terreific that six games will be played at the stadium over the course of the season. They will all be twilight matches, with Reserves kicking off at 3pm and Seniors following at 5pm, and it's certainly our intention that a Women's League or Colts match will be played as a curtain-raiser to the Reserves.”
Dunstan also said it was a fixture that generally accommodates the desires of the member Clubs. “It’s always a challenge to accommodate the requests of all Clubs as there are many long standing traditions within the
competition now that need to be accommodated. Souths and Norths always meet on Anzac Day, Lions and
Norths always play to coincide with AFL Indigenous Round and it's always played at Holloways Beach Sporting
Complex and Centrals and Norths always meet at Crathern Park late May/early June for the Wayne Jackson
Memorial match. These long standing arrangements are important to the Clubs and to the competition.”
Dunstan said “AFL Cairns was surprised by the lack of desire from the Clubs to schedule matches for Friday
nights and Sundays, with a strong want for Saturday games at the traditional 1pm and 3pm time slots, but
understand that Clubs rely heavily on home games to raise their much needed operating funds, and history
shows the best crowds attend on Saturday afternoons.”
For more information please contact Melissa Dunstan, AFL Cairns 4042 3008 or 0407 060 020
Last Modified on 30/01/2015 10:11