MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 29: Lance Franklin of the Swans looks on after being named captain during the 2018 AFL All-Australia Awards at the Palais Theatre on August 29, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Footy is set for a huge week with the AFL Awards Night to take place on the eve of the 2021 finals series.
The AFL has announced that the semi-virtual event will take place on Thursday, August 26, joining an already jam-packed AFL schedule.
The Rising Star Award and All-Australian team will both be announced on the night in an event that also crowns the winner of the Coaches Association Award and the Coleman Medal.
Originally run as three separate events, the AFL Awards Night was created last year to be a key feature of the pre-finals bye week schedule.
But now with the AFL scrapping the bye, the event will instead take place on the night before the first final.
The AFL's Hall of Fame induction will also be held next week with the semi-virtual event taking place on Tuesday, August 24.