An exciting iteration of the Country Clash will be rolled out this Good Friday, with 14 teams from across Central Australia converging on Alice Springs for football fun.
See the 2019 Country Clash fixture here (PDF) or on the SportsTG site, which will be updated with all the results: http://websites.sportstg.com/comp_info.cgi?c=1-3797-0-530032-0&a=FIXTURE
Nyrippi will travel from 452 kilometres away to compete, with 11 other 2019 CAFL Country League and Community Cup teams making a trip, while West and Federal are the only two town teams who have registered to compete.
It is the first time the round-robin style carnival will use the AFLX format and rules, with nine field players (three defenders, three midfield, three forwards) and three on the interchange.
The 14 teams (Areyonga, Federal, Laramba, Ltyentye, MacDonnell Districts, Mt Allan, Nyrippi, Plenty Highway, Titjkala, Ti Tree, West, Western Aranda, Willowra and Yuendumu) have been split into two pools.
The two AFLX rectangle fields will be set up on opposite wings of the TIO Traeger Park oval, meaning Pool A and Pool B games can run concurrently.
Each team will play four games, consisting of two 10-minute halves, with the action commencing from 10am and culminating with the grand final at 6:45pm.
Entry costs $7 for adults and $2 for children.
AFLNT’s Community Football Manager – Central Australia, Darryl Griffiths said he was excited to see the teams play the new AFLX format.
“By changing the format of the carnival to the AFLX style it’s meant that more teams have the opportunity to compete because they’ve got enough players, so we’re pleased to have grown from having nine teams in 2018 to 14 this year.
“The format of the game will also suit the quick pace and immensely talented footballers in the region and is sure to be a spectacle for fans.
“For many of these guys it will be their main competitive hit out before the TIO CAFL season commences next week, so we encourage everyone to get down to TIO Traeger Park on Friday to check out the fun,” he said.
