The 2020 TIO Central Australian Football League (CAFL) finals get underway for the 'town' divisions this weekend after a successful 10-round home and away season was completed following the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
The TIO CAFL Senior Men, Yeperenye Senior Women, TDC Refrigeration Reserves and AJ Services Under 17 Boys all head into semi-finals with every club having at least one team represented across the four divisions; while Pioneer and Rovers have representation in all four and Federal and Alkamilya have qualified for all their available divisions.
The women will begin proceedings on Friday night with the Pioneer E-Girls looking to continue their grand final appearances when they face Rovers, the team they defeated in the 2019 decider, in a qualifying semi-final.
Meanwhile, Wests will take some confidence from its last win, a one-point victory over the E-Girls, when it comes up against Alkamilya for the final Friday night game of the season. The winner will advance to week two, while the loser will draw a curtain on its 2020 campaign.
On Saturday afternoon, the TIO CAFL Senior Men's finals start with a bang when Rovers begins its push for a four-peat against Federal. The teams have been top of the ladder most of the season, and they're one win apiece from the two occasions they've met this year.
The winner will advance directly to the grand final, which if it's Federal will be its first grand final appearance since 2017.
The do-or-die semi-final will see Pioneer take on the 2019 and 2018 runners-up, South. The two games they've played in 2020 have been decided by a five-points and 17-points in favour of the Eagles, but both were tightly contested.
The TDC Refrigeration Reserves sees Federal and Pioneer battle for the qualifying grand final spot, while only one team from Rovers and Wests will advance after this weekend.
The AJ Services Under 17 Boys division came about because of the impact of COVID-19 and limited access to available players, and while Federal has been the frontrunners in this new division, the other three finalists; South, Pioneer and Rovers are evenly poised to claim the premiership spoils.
All the 2020 TIO CAFL finals fixtures and results can be viewed on SportsTG here.
