A second AFLW clash has been given the green light to be played under brighter lights with the Demons now set to host their Round 2 fixture against the Kangaroos at the MCG.
This latest alteration to the schedule comes hot on the tail of the successful grassroots campaign which saw Essendon and Hawthorn's inaugural date shifted from North Port Oval to Marvel Stadium.
Although Melbourne and the joint venture Roos were also originally scheduled to face off at the Williamstown Road venue, the pair of premiership contenders will now do battle in a curtain raiser before the second qualifying final between the Demons and Swans on Friday, September 2.
With Simon Goodwin's reigning premiers and John Longmuir's resurgent Swans set to meet at 7:40pm (AEST) on Friday week, the clash between Daisy Pearce and Emma Kearney's outfits will now take place at 5pm.
Having hosted, and bested, Brisbane during their own preliminary final earlier in the season, Pearce and company will be making their second venture to the 'Mecca of Football' since April.
For Kearney's mob, the upgraded event will act as the first chance for North's women's team to ply their trade on the hallowed turf of the 'G.
Speaking in the wake of shift, AFL General Manager Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone claimed it as a watershed moment.
“This is such a well-deserved and momentous occasion for these two AFLW teams – to be able to run out on the MCG and play amazing football in front of a huge crowd ahead of a Final is an amazing opportunity and one we’re so glad we’ve made a reality," Livingstone said within a prepared statement from league headquarters.
“The demand we’ve seen for AFLW tickets has been huge – first we moved the Hawthorn and Essendon game to Marvel and now Melbourne and North opening for a Final at the MCG speaks volumes to how much the community is getting behind women’s football."
Roos and Dees fans will be asked to pay AFL Finals prices for a ticket to the clash.
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