Fixture 2026 Fixture

[Howard Littlejohn]

When is this abomination going to be released?

One of opening round opr gather round, probably next week. The other of those two a week after that. Then round one. Then the part ficture we get with all the open ended crap for the second half of the season making it impossible to plan to get to games.
Un;less they break for a week or two to give media air time to the draft. So, two-thirds of a fixture by mid-December.

 

[L_W_P]

There will prob be 4 games on the Saturday so potentially a Port home game Saturday night as well and maybe a twilight in Canberra

Would love them to bring the MCG game to a 1:20 start, then roll into twilight at AO and then into a night game on Perth.

Would be an unreal day of TV.

 

[JPetro83]

Would love them to bring the MCG game to a 1:20 start, then roll into twilight at AO and then into a night game on Perth.

Would be an unreal day of TV.

That would make sense and be great but its the AFL we are talking about. they NEVER give fans what they truly want. they have no idea

 

[Seattle Mariners]

Would love them to bring the MCG game to a 1:20 start, then roll into twilight at AO and then into a night game on Perth.

Would be an unreal day of TV.

Makes too much sense for the AFL.

 

[L_W_P]

That would make sense and be great but its the AFL we are talking about. they NEVER give fans what they truly want. they have no idea

Give all 3 games clear air too. Not sure how the "home game" rights line up so swap that if needed but something like this could work pretty well.

Thursday Night:
Hawthorn v St Kilda - Marvel

Friday Night:
Melbourne v Richmond - MCG

Saturday:
Collingwood v Essendon - MCG - Early Start
Port Adelaide v Sydney - AO - Twilight
Fremantle v Geelong - Optus - Night

Sunday:
GWS v Adelaide - Sydney - Early Start
Carlton v Bulldogs - Marvel - 3:20 start CH7
North v West Coast - Hobart - Twilight
Brisbane v Gold Coast - Gabba - Night

 

[JPetro83]

Give all 3 games clear air too. Not sure how the "home game" rights line up so swap that if needed but something like this could work pretty well.

Thursday Night:
Hawthorn v St Kilda - Marvel

Friday Night:
Melbourne v Richmond - MCG

Saturday:
Collingwood v Essendon - MCG - Early Start
Port Adelaide v Sydney - AO - Twilight
Fremantle v Geelong - Optus - Night

Sunday:
GWS v Adelaide - Sydney - Early Start
Carlton v Bulldogs - Marvel - 3:20 start CH7
North v West Coast - Hobart - Twilight
Brisbane v Gold Coast - Gabba - Night

works well.. another guaranteed loss for the crows though lol

 

[Seattle Mariners]

Give all 3 games clear air too. Not sure how the "home game" rights line up so swap that if needed but something like this could work pretty well.

Thursday Night:
Hawthorn v St Kilda - Marvel

Friday Night:
Melbourne v Richmond - MCG

Saturday:
Collingwood v Essendon - MCG - Early Start
Port Adelaide v Sydney - AO - Twilight
Fremantle v Geelong - Optus - Night

Sunday:
GWS v Adelaide - Sydney - Early Start
Carlton v Bulldogs - Marvel - 3:20 start CH7
North v West Coast - Hobart - Twilight
Brisbane v Gold Coast - Gabba - Night

I'd expect the Q clash to be Labour day eve (4 May) rather than Anzac round.

Whilst there will be no leaks this week, you'd imagine there is a ton of heavy lifting being done behind the scenes, and next week we'll start to hear some gossip.

 

[manicmagpie]

IIRC, the AFL have always said the RSL requests them not to start games early on ANZAC Day to allow people to be able to attend services/parades first and still get to the game.

 

[L_W_P]

Do we think the NZ experiment will ever be tried again?

I wish the Saints had stuck with it but I think the current administration is pretty strongly against selling home games.

If Tassie gets up, and North keep playing the 'extra' games in WA, then maybe the Hawks have a go at it?

 

[mikey127]

Do we think the NZ experiment will ever be tried again?

I wish the Saints had stuck with it but I think the current administration is pretty strongly against selling home games.

If Tassie gets up, and North keep playing the 'extra' games in WA, then maybe the Hawks have a go at it?

It should be tried again. Whether it will is another thing

 

[mikey127]

Give all 3 games clear air too. Not sure how the "home game" rights line up so swap that if needed but something like this could work pretty well.

Thursday Night:
Hawthorn v St Kilda - Marvel

Friday Night:
Melbourne v Richmond - MCG

Saturday:
Collingwood v Essendon - MCG - Early Start
Port Adelaide v Sydney - AO - Twilight
Fremantle v Geelong - Optus - Night

Sunday:
GWS v Adelaide - Sydney - Early Start
Carlton v Bulldogs - Marvel - 3:20 start CH7
North v West Coast - Hobart - Twilight
Brisbane v Gold Coast - Gabba - Night

Won't be Hawthorn. Given they play Easter Monday it would require back to back 5 day breaks

 

[Seattle Mariners]

I wish the Saints had stuck with it but I think the current administration is pretty strongly against selling home games.

I wish my club would take the same stance as St Kilda.

A bit of sick throwing 4 points in the bin in front of 5,000 people at a bush league standard venue.
Funnily enough the Saints killed off whatever momentum the Dees (5-6 at round 11) had at the Alice this year.

 

[Demon13304]

I wish my club would take the same stance as St Kilda.

A bit of sick throwing 4 points in the bin in front of 5,000 people at a bush league standard venue.
Funnily enough the Saints killed off whatever momentum the Dees (5-6 at round 11) had at the Alice this year.

Eh the conditions are usually perfect for footy there (20degrees and sunny) when we normally play there. I wouldn't blame the venue for the Dees being insanely inaccurate for several years now.
I'd say that our 4-7 (36% win rate) record at Alice Springs is on par with our MCG record since 2014 lol

The crowds annoy me though, we already cop it more than any other club and that number certainly drags it down as well.

 

[L_W_P]

Won't be Hawthorn. Given they play Easter Monday it would require back to back 5 day breaks

Makes it tough if the Hawks can't do it, even post Tassie.

Pies, Blues, Tigers, Cats, Bombers all ruled out.

Dees already go to NT.

North to WA.

Saints have said 'no' to any games being sold again.

Dogs play in Ballarat. Maybe they sell one more game to NZ?

Might be a bridge too far if the AFL can't pay the Saints enough...

 

[BuffDog]

IIRC, the AFL have always said the RSL requests them not to start games early on ANZAC Day to allow people to be able to attend services/parades first and still get to the game.

It’s easy enough to get around the standalone afternoon ANZAC game with a combo of:

1x Thurs n
2x Friday n
1x Sat arvo (Coll v Ess)
2x Sat n
3x Sun

I’d imagine we will see something like that for that round.

 

[mikey127]

Makes it tough if the Hawks can't do it, even post Tassie.

Pies, Blues, Tigers, Cats, Bombers all ruled out.

Dees already go to NT.

North to WA.

Saints have said 'no' to any games being sold again.

Dogs play in Ballarat. Maybe they sell one more game to NZ?

Might be a bridge too far if the AFL can't pay the Saints enough...

I know its left field and highly doubtful but I would like the 20th team to he a NZ team. The game would grow there in time.

Also stuff international rules let's have an Aussie v Ireland womens test match next year

 

[kid_a]

Give all 3 games clear air too. Not sure how the "home game" rights line up so swap that if needed but something like this could work pretty well.

Thursday Night:
Hawthorn v St Kilda - Marvel

Friday Night:
Melbourne v Richmond - MCG

Saturday:
Collingwood v Essendon - MCG - Early Start
Port Adelaide v Sydney - AO - Twilight
Fremantle v Geelong - Optus - Night

Sunday:
GWS v Adelaide - Sydney - Early Start
Carlton v Bulldogs - Marvel - 3:20 start CH7
North v West Coast - Hobart - Twilight
Brisbane v Gold Coast - Gabba - Night

Norths home game against us will be at Optus stadium next year and they'll be playing Freo down in Bunbury the week before or the week after. They've got a contract to have a pair of home games over here with one in Bunbury

 

[kid_a]

I know its left field and highly doubtful but I would like the 20th team to he a NZ team. The game would grow there in time.

Also stuff international rules let's have an Aussie v Ireland womens test match next year

Would need to be based in Auckland but Auckland doesn't have a ground that capable of hosting AFL

 

[kid_a]

I wish my club would take the same stance as St Kilda.

A bit of sick throwing 4 points in the bin in front of 5,000 people at a bush league standard venue.
Funnily enough the Saints killed off whatever momentum the Dees (5-6 at round 11) had at the Alice this year.

After living over in NZ for a year and being involved with one of the local comps over there Id love to see one or two clubs have another crack at the market.

One issue is ideally you'd want games to be played in Auckland (it's almost 4 times bigger population wise than the next biggest city) but Auckland doesn't have a ground suitable for hosting test cricket, let alone AFL.

If a club was to go back to Wellington I'd say starting off at the basin reserve rather than Sky stadium would be a better idea. Its much smaller but I reckon having a 13,000 capacity venue that is full will create a better atmosphere and look better on the tv than a 1/3 full sky stadium.....especially because the empty seats are so glaring at that stadium too being all yellow. Basin Reserve has hosted AFL pre season games in the past and is centrally located in the city.

I wouldn't mind seeing a club give Christchurch a crack too, Hagley Oval is a perfect venue for footy, I went there a few times to watch cricket. It's right in the middle of town and Christchurch has the most stable weather of any city in NZ, which when you're trying to sell the game can be important as you want good weather to exhibit the skills and pace of the sport.

Until Auckland is a viable option if actually like to see one club (maybe Melbourne) go to Wellington and try to make inroads there and another (say the Saints) to Christchurch.

Each club send over a few players each pre season for some clinics, school sessions, promo stuff etc around their respective city and then host a home game there early in the season (somewhere between round 3 & 8) and then both host an aflw game over there in September before cricket season starts up.

 

[GC2015]

My prediction for Opening Round 2026:

Thursday night - Sydney v Carlton @ SCG
Friday night - Brisbane v Essendon @ Gabba
Saturday afternoon - GWS v Hawthorn @ Sydney Showgrounds
Saturday night - Gold Coast v Melbourne @ Carrara Stadium
Sunday night - St Kilda v Collingwood @ MCG

 

[mighty_lions]

Give all 3 games clear air too. Not sure how the "home game" rights line up so swap that if needed but something like this could work pretty well.

Thursday Night:
Hawthorn v St Kilda - Marvel

Friday Night:
Melbourne v Richmond - MCG

Saturday:
Collingwood v Essendon - MCG - Early Start
Port Adelaide v Sydney - AO - Twilight
Fremantle v Geelong - Optus - Night

Sunday:
GWS v Adelaide - Sydney - Early Start
Carlton v Bulldogs - Marvel - 3:20 start CH7
North v West Coast - Hobart - Twilight
Brisbane v Gold Coast - Gabba - Night

the brisbane Gold Coast wont happen we already play them a week later.....

 

[mattpolo8]

Sydney may or may not have let it slip
Opening round v carlton

 

[Seattle Mariners]

Sydney may or may not have let it slip
Opening round v carlton

I find that surprising.
I thought Sydney and Carlton have an agreement to play an annual Friday night game during the Sir Walter Nicholls round at the SCG in May.

 

[mikey127]

Would need to be based in Auckland but Auckland doesn't have a ground that capable of hosting AFL

I heard there is talk of an oval shaped stadium being built in Auckland.

 

[Whiskers]

I find that surprising.
I thought Sydney and Carlton have an agreement to play an annual Friday night game during the Sir Walter Nicholls round at the SCG in May.

Teams play each other twice within an 8 week period often enough.