The AFL has locked in October 24 for the 2020 Grand Final, with the pre-finals bye set to remain in place, according to The Age.
While the date has been set, the venue is unlikely to be announced until next week.
The decider will clash with the Cox Plate, which is being held on the same day, with the time of the contest still to be decided.
Queensland and Western Australia are the two states leading the race to host the big day, with all signs pointing to a twilight or night Grand Final.
Queensland remains heavy favourites, but it will need to be officially ticked off by the AFL commission next week.
With the commission not meeting until Tuesday, it won't be until September that the public knows the venue for the final.
With a Grand Final date locked in, Western Australia could be closing the gap to host the event with Premier Mark Mcgowan indicating a relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions by October 24.
It means Optus Stadium could yet see a packed house assuming no pushback of the restrictions.
The stadium holds double the capacity of what the Gabba bid is likely to have - a capacity of 30,000 compared to 60,000.
The home and away season will end on the weekend of September 19/20, with a pre-finals bye being used by the AFL to assist teams in getting their players fit for the finals.
The finals will start in the first week of October before leading up to the decider.