Geelong Falcons go on the road in 2018

BOTH of the Geelong Falcons’ sides will be on the road during this year’s TAC Cup, with the draw showing only four Geelong games between them.

AFL Victoria released the 2018 TAC Cup and TAC Cup Girls fixtures late last year.

In the TAC Cup, the 12 regions will each play 16 home-and-away games, with six Development Weekends without any fixtures across the 2018 season, plus a split Round 12 with three games to be played each weekend.

The season will kick off on March 24, with round 1 to be the first of three straight weekends on which teams will only face off against fellow Country or Metro teams – this includes the Falcons’ home game against the Dandenong Stingrays at GMHBA Stadium.

Their only other game at the same venue is round 2 on April 1 against the Greater Western Victoria Rebels.

In a major change for the 2018 season, a wildcard round will be introduced before the finals to provide players across all clubs an extra development opportunity.

The top four teams will earn a week off, with a wildcard round set to decide the remaining four finalists – teams placed four to eight will be matched against the ninth-to-12th-placed teams.

A three-week finals series will then begin on the weekend of September 8/9, following the elimination final format that was introduced in 2017.

The second season of TAC Cup Girls will again feature all 12 regions, but will expand from a five to nine-round season and include the first-ever grand final for the under-18 girls’ competition.

Round 1, including Geelong’s home game against the Sandringham Dragons at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus, begins on March 3.

The Falcons also play at Deakin University in round 3 against the Dandenong Stingrays on March 25.

The TAC Cup Girls season will include two bye rounds on March 10/11 and April 14/15.

For both fixtures, head to taccup.com.au.