The year’s biggest weekend of football is even bigger in Maitland with the Newcastle Jets and Sydney Wanderers renewing rivalries in Saturday’s trial game at Maitland No. 1 Sportsground.
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A noon kick off means sports fans can watch the A-League and get home or to their favourite watering hole with plenty of time to watch the AFL grand final.
It will be a marathon weekend with the NRL grand final capturing attention on Sunday.
Maitland City Council media spokesman Chris Breadan said the early start ensured there was not a clash with the start of the AFL grand final.
Breaden said local hotels and clubs were likely to benefit with many fans expected to move on from the A-League to watch the grand final.
“It’s going to be a big weekend for sports fans, they might want to pace themselves,” he said.
The Jets and Wanderers clash follows the success of the friendly between the Jets and the Central Coast Mariners in Maitland in August
The Wanderers have been a powerhouse club since they entered the competition in 2012, taking home the minor premiership trophy in their first season and amazingly, winning the AFC Champions League in 2014.
After going all the way to the decider last season, Newcastle will be looking to continue their good form and claim outright victory.
The Wanderers fans regularly travel in big numbers to away games and Breadon said the game had been heavily promoted on the Wanderers’ social media sites.
“It would be great to see a big turn out of Wanderers fans both from Sydney and Maitland and the Hunter,” he said.
Tickets have been selling fast and the grandstand is almost full for the Jets’ final official pre-season fixture before round one against the Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand on October 21.
However, as fans who went to the Jets and Mariners game know there are plenty of excellent viewing spots in the general admission areas with tickets costing just $10.
Tickets can be purchased at the ground on Saturday or online at maitlandevents.com.au
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