The Greater Western Sydney Giants will host AFL powerhouse Hawthorn in Canberra for a Friday night blockbuster that simply "doesn’t get any bigger".
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Fairfax Media can reveal the Giants will host Tom Scully's Hawthorn Hawks under lights at Manuka Oval on Friday, August 9, with the AFL set to publish the 2019 fixture at noon on Thursday.
The fixture marks Hawthorn's first match in Canberra and it is poised to have major implications on the AFL finals picture if recent history is anything to go by for two finals regulars.
Friday night is the most coveted time slot in the AFL schedule, with matches drawing massive crowds and big television audiences.
It comes two seasons after the Giants hosted the Western Bulldogs in the club's first Friday night game at a sold-out Manuka Oval in what chief operating officer James Avery labels a roaring success on all fronts.
"We pushed hard to ensure we got the second ever Friday night game in Canberra so we’re really pleased to have been able to secure that game, particularly against a club as big as Hawthorn," Avery said.
"The first ever Friday night game in Canberra a couple of seasons ago was a huge success by every measure, I think that has been recognised by the AFL by awarding us such a blockbuster on what is the marquee slot of the round, being a Friday night against a genuine powerhouse.
"We think it’s exactly what our supporters in Canberra deserve, and it promises to be a huge game given everyone would anticipate Hawthorn would be very strong again next year, and we’ve certainly got high hopes again.
"Having it that close to the finals makes it an even more attractive proposition to fans in Canberra. It’s pretty safe to assume there will be a fair bit riding on that game one way or another.
"The timing couldn’t be better in terms of the scheduling of the round, but particularly pleased Canberra gets to be showcased on the biggest national free-to-air timeslot of the week."
The club has previously highlighted an Easter Thursday clash in Canberra as a possibility, with officials believing the Saturday twilight slot works best for their Sydney-based fans.
Hawthorn's impending arrival leaves Collingwood, Carlton, Sydney, Essendon, Brisbane, and West Coast as the only clubs yet to play the Giants for premiership points at Manuka Oval.
The Hawthorn blockbuster is one of three regular season games on the agenda for Manuka Oval as per the club's 10-year, $23 million agreement with the ACT government, with 2018's clashes garnering more than 35,000 fans.
The club has started informal discussions about extending their partnership with the ACT government beyond 2021, which sees GWS bring one pre-season and three regular season matches to Canberra per year, with chief executive David Matthews touting upgrades of Manuka Oval as a top priority.
The Giants will host the Adelaide Crows in Canberra second year running when they meet in a pre-season fixture under lights at Manuka Oval on Friday, March 8.
A week later the Giants will finish the AFLW regular season with a clash against the Geelong Cats at Manuka Oval on a Friday night on March 15.
"We’re absolutely committed to bringing really quality and varied opposition to Canberra to make sure the games are as big as they can be and to make sure our supporters in Canberra get the best of the AFL," Avery said.
"We’ve been able to succeed in working with the AFL on that over the last number of years. It’s great knowing next year is going to be the same, we’ll bring a different team in again, a team people expect to see featuring in the finals in 2019.
"We understand it’s important to continue to bring marquee games to Canberra, so to have a Friday night slot, it doesn’t get any bigger than that, which we’re really pleased about."
