The National Rugby League "could go head to head" with the Australian Football League over the use of ANZ Stadium during the finals series or "face the ugly prospect of staging another double header to accommodate its clubs in the opening week of the finals," according to Stuart Honeysett of THE AUSTRALIAN. The situation is so uncertain that the NRL has admitted that "it will not have a clearer picture until officials meet after the last game of the regular season on Sunday." Before that game NRL officials "will be sweating on the result of the Sydney Swans AFL qualifying final match against Fremantle at ANZ Stadium." A win "will see the Swans earn a week off and progress to the preliminary final while a loss would be a disaster and see them play in a semi final the following week, the same week as the opening round of the NRL’s finals series." The Swans "have a contract in place with ANZ Stadium to play their finals matches there" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/2). In Sydney, Michael Chammas wrote the NRL is "keen to avoid another finals double header after the disappointing crowd that attended last year." The teams that finish the regular season in first, second, fifth and sixth "will play home finals in week one of the NRL series, with all Sydney teams to play at ANZ Stadium and Allianz Stadium." The AFL has indicated that if the Swans were to host a final in the second week of its series, its preference "would be to play it on a Saturday night" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/1).
