Manuka Oval will finally be allowed to breathe for a month after Thursday's Big Bash challenger final marked the over-worked venue's last major sporting commitment until March 6.
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The ground had been on standby to host extra AFLW matches, but the GWS Giants have been cleared to fulfill their fixtures in Sydney meaning Canberra will likely host the women's just once this season, early next month against the Gold Coast Suns.
A day later the men's side host Brisbane in the AFL's Community Series - the Giants' first match in Canberra since round 21 of 2019.
It means Manuka Oval will be given a full month to recover after an exhausting eight-week stint during which the ground has hosted 13 Big Bash fixtures and two cricket internationals.
Many of those games were at short notice, with Cricket Australia using the venue time and again as a solution to its fixturing nightmare, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AFL has also faced a logistical headache this week ahead of round two of the women's competition.
GWS was supposed to be playing West Coast in Perth this weekend, but cleared out of Western Australia after their round one loss to Fremantle just as the state entered a five-day lockdown following the detection of their first community-transmitted coronavirus case in 10 months.
They've been self isolating in Sydney this week, but have received an exemption by the NSW government to train and play this weekend.
Adelaide flew to Sydney on Thursday and are set to play the Giants at Blacktown International Sports Park on Sunday. A week later the Giants are expected to fulfill their round-three fixture at the same venue, which at this stage is against the Brisbane Lions.
"We're now on track to play one AFLW game at Manuka Oval given we should be able to play the originally fixtured home games in Sydney," Giants chief operating officer James Avery said.
"This would mean less travel which is important given we've been on the road for a month already. But naturally this is subject to further change at the moment."
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Big Bash chief Alistair Dobson will publicly thank Canberra's contribution to this season on Friday morning.
"Special mention must go to the Cricket ACT curators, led by Brad van Dam, who worked tirelessly to ensure Manuka Oval and all training facilities were presented to a world class standard," Dobson said.
"On multiple occasions, Team Canberra also stepped up at short notice to make Manuka Oval and their support staff available to the League to ensure we could deliver a full season without interruption.
"In all, over 50,000 fans have come through the gates to enjoy high quality cricket.
"We look forward to bringing them more cricket next year."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
