A week one final at Simonds Stadium is not completely out of the question according to AFL General Manager of Broadcasting and Scheduling, Simon Lethlean.

Speaking to Radio Sports National this morning, Lethlean declared the possibility still exists for the Cats to host a final at Simonds Stadium if they were to line up against Fremantle in week one.

“They’ve got every right to ask for that now that the venue has lights and it’s a venue with a capacity above 30,000 people but in the end we’ve got to weigh it up.

“It’s more to do with the other three games that will be at the MCG and the timings around those and also about Fremantle’s travel patterns and when they should be playing, whether it should be night or day.

“Unfortunately we have to fixture week one with week two in mind too, about who plays Friday night in week two.

“There are a whole heap of different things that go into it and we are tossing them up now.”

If the Cats were to secure a Simonds Stadium qualifying final, it would grant them a significant advantage after winning 42 of their last 43 at the ground.

With the likelihood of four finals in Melbourne in week one, other possibilities suggested include a Saturday double-header at the MCG or one game at Etihad Stadium.

Speaking to 3AW last night, Cats coach Chris Scott said he was more than happy to play at Simonds Stadium but feels it’s important to maintain the integrity of the fixture and base week one on a club’s ladder position.

“We’re happy to play anywhere, we’re not guaranteed a final in Melbourne for a start, we’ve got to win this weekend first.

“If you really want to press me on where we’d rather play, after Geelong we’d probably prefer to play at the MCG, just after that we’d prefer to play at Etihad.

“I’ve said for a few weeks publically and privately that it’s our preference to play in Melbourne but if we had to play a final interstate I think we’re playing good enough footy to beat those teams anywhere.”