2011 NAB Cup

The AFL has announced the six divisions for round one of the 2011 NAB Cup where each team will be placed in six pools.

Each club will play two matches in their pool against the other two sides, with all round one matches being shortened games, comprising two 20-minute halves (approximately) across a three-hour window for the three matches.

The Gold Coast Suns and Team GWS - the AFL’s 17th and 18th teams who will join the national competition in 2011 and 2012 respectively - will face off against the Sydney Swans in round one of the 2011 NAB Cup.

The other round one pools, and their locations, are:

• Adelaide, Port Adelaide and Melbourne at AAMI Stadium, Friday night February 11.
• Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond at Etihad Stadium, Saturday night February 12.
• West Coast, Fremantle and Hawthorn at Patersons Stadium, Sunday afternoon February 13.
• Essendon, the Brisbane Lions and St Kilda at Etihad Stadium, Friday night February 18.
• Geelong Cats, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs at Skilled Stadium, Sunday afternoon February 20.

The introduction of the Gold Coast Football Club, as the competition’s 17th side from 2011 onwards, had meant the AFL was not able to continue with a traditional four-week straight knockout competition for the NAB Cup.

Under the new format that was announced in May 2010, the six winners of each division will qualify for round two, along with the two other sides that have the best records among all the other teams, to allow for a traditional quarter-final set up of eight teams, before moving into semi finals and a grand final over a three-week period.

Mr McLachlan said all matches in the NAB Cup would be broadcast by one of the AFL’s partners - Channel Seven, the Ten Network or Fox Sports - with the final to be broadcast by Channel 7 on Friday March 11.

“We are looking forward to seeing how the new format will work for round one next year,” Mr McLachlan said.

“The shortened format will allow players and teams to adjust their preparation for the season, before playing full-scale matches from week two of the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge competitions, and then beginning the premiership season in late March.

In round one, supporters will see their team play twice and, all up, there will be three matches played during a three-hour period,” he said.

NAB Cup Fixture

View the 2011 NAB Cup fixture for each AFL team.