The AFL finals will get going on Thursday with the first elimination final as the West Coast Eagles and Essendon Bombers face off. This is The Roar’s ultimate guide to streaming the match online, or watching it on TV.
The match will be played at Optus Stadium in Perth, with a crowd of over 50,000 expected to be on hand. The first bounce is scheduled for 8:10pm (AEST), which is 6:10pm local time thanks to the time difference between the east coast of Australia and Western Australia.
The Eagles narrowly missed out on a spot in the qualifying finals and a valuable second chance, finishing fifth on the ladder at the end of the regular season.
They do, however, get home ground advantage for this match, with the Eagles set to take on the Essendon Bombers, who managed to make the finals, despite an up and down finish to the year.
The loser of this match is eliminated from the AFL premiership hunt, while the winner lives to fight another day against the loser of the qualifying final between the Geelong Cats and Collingwood Magpies, which will be played on Friday evening.
Every match across the first three weeks of the finals will be broadcast on two different channels across Australia.
The best way to watch the AFL finals will be on Foxtel, with their coverage being ad-break free from siren to siren.
Fox Sports will broadcast the match on Fox Footy, which can be found at Channel 504, however, you will need a valid Foxtel TV subscription, complete with the sports package.
The other method to tune into the AFL finals is through free to air broadcaster Channel 7.
There are multiple ways to stream the AFL finals online. The West Coast vs Essendon opener will be available on both Foxtel sports streaming services and the Channel 7 dedicated streaming service.
The best way to live stream the match between the Eagles and Bombers online is through Kayo Sports, which is available for $25 per month and has the rights to all of Foxtel’s sports channels.
You can also stream the action through Foxtel Now for those without a Foxtel TV subscription, or the Foxtel App for those with a TV subscription.
You’ll also be able to live stream the match through 7Plus for free – all you’ll need to provide is a valid email address.
The AFL’s streaming option, known as the AFL Digital Pass will also grant access to matches outside the grand final.
Here at The Roar, you’ll be able to follow the action from 7:55pm (AEST) on Thursday with our live scores, blog and highlights of the game.
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