Fixture 2026 Fixture

[Purple Suit]

Let's look at this year and look at their finishing positions:

Sydney (10th) lost to Brisbane (Premiers)
Hawthorn (Prelim) beat Essendon (15th)
GWS (Elim) beat Melbourne (14th)
Collingwood (Prelim) beat Port (13th)

It's almost as if the teams that won were significantly better than their opponents

You're looking at it wrong.

From the year before, Port (Prelim) should have knocked off Pies (9th). The rest went on final positions from the previous year. But Pies got an easy kill and then quickly built momentum.

It's obviously an advantage and stats are starting to line up with that. I've seen it first hand from Freo, we started horribly against the Lions in 2024 but knocked them off once we shook off the rust. No other team did though that year.

It's a compromise that doesn't have to happen even with opening round.

Great to see the geniuses at AFL house not lining byes either for the OR teams. Continuous improvement not their cup of tea.

 

[cricketnut14]

Blues have six interstate trips in first 14 rounds - nice one AFL.

and none in the last 9 rounds.

 

[Purple Suit]

Blues and Pies both requested not to be on Laura Kane Round so I hardly think they'll be jumping in joy about whatever advantage you think we get from it.

I think Carlton will be when you knock off Richmond in round 1.

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

and none in the last 9 rounds.

Our season will be cooked by then and all hope squashed out of the fans.

 

[eth-dog]

You're looking at it wrong.

From the year before, Port (Prelim) should have knocked off Pies (9th). The rest went on final positions from the previous year. But Pies got an easy kill and then quickly built momentum.

It's obviously an advantage and stats are starting to line up with that. I've seen it first hand from Freo, we started horribly against the Lions in 2024 but knocked them off once we shook off the rust. No other team did though that year.

It's a compromise that doesn't have to happen even with opening round.

Great to see the geniuses at AFL house not lining byes either for the opening round teams. Continuous improvement not their cup of tea.

Yes because if there wasn't that pesky cyclone Essendon would have gone on to beat Hawthorn

 

[fl4gd0n5]

Yes because if there wasn't that pesky cyclone Essendon would have gone on to beat Hawthorn

It was a close game tbf. Essendon challenged in the second half but blew chances.

 

[Purple Suit]

Yes because if there wasn't that pesky cyclone Essendon would have gone on to beat Hawthorn

Nah,
Hawks already played opening round.

If the 4 games went ahead and the same results occurred the record would have been 4-0 for opening round teams against non opening round in 24.

The AFL have decided to have 6 games compromised in round 1 now rather than their standard 4.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

I think Carlton will be when you knock off Richmond in round 1.

We beat Brisbane in OR the year it was introduced and we all still collectively hated it. It's crap.

 

[Purple Suit]

It was a close game tbf. Essendon challenged in the second half but blew chances.

That Hawks/Essendon game is a poster child for the advantage. Hawks got off to a 6 goal to 1 opening term and it was an arm wrestle for the rest of the game. If you remove the 1st quarter scores, Essendon win by 1 point.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Without playing them in Opening round, you'd still be playing the SUNS away during the year.

Which is beside the point.
The argument is that it is better to play interstate OR than have that week off. I am saying I'd rather the week off than Suns away OR

 

[daniel_4tw]

If Opening Round is to build interest Northern States, how does St Kilda v Collingwood at the MCG do that?

And if they can play a game in Melbourne, why can’t SA and WA play a game? How does Saints/Coll not take the attention away, but a Port/Fremantle would?

 

[eth-dog]

If Opening Round is to build interest Northern States, how does St Kilda v Collingwood at the MCG do that?

And if they can play a game in Melbourne, why can’t SA and WA play a game? How does Saints/Coll not take the attention away, but a Port/Fremantle would?

It doesn't

 

[fl4gd0n5]

If Opening Round is to build interest Northern States, how does St Kilda v Collingwood at the MCG do that?

And if they can play a game in Melbourne, why can’t SA and WA play a game? How does Saints/Coll not take the attention away, but a Port/Fremantle would?

Fremantle v Adelaide would’ve been a good one, because they could put it at 8:30pm for the east coast, only 5:30pm in Perth. Both teams played finals last year. Only think is, once you get to seven games, you need to have nine. You can’t give 14 teams an extra bye, whilst the other four have to go through without one. And yes, I get they have an extra week off at the start during OR, but a week off after playing is way different to having one off preseason.

 

[daniel_4tw]

Which is beside the point.
The argument is that it is better to play interstate OR than have that week off. I am saying I'd rather the week off than Suns away OR

How about playing Gold Coast away, or getting a second bye a few weeks into the season instead?

Playing Gold Coast away isn’t the punishment. Majority of teams will play them away at some point. So you play them in R0 instead of R15….

The advantage is getting to start your season early and a second bye, and getting to see your tactics in action before taking on an opponent that is still coming out of their preseason.

 

[wcv1475]

Not sure why people complain about a games crossover.

Leagues far bigger than the AFL globally (EPL, NFL, NBA) all have weekly if not daily crossovers of games. Its not a thing.

Also pies barely leaving Victoria again i see.

Pretty sure most Vic teams including Collingwood leave Vic 5 times not including gather round, Pies, without checking every Vic team are the same as Essendon, Hawthorn and Geelong in leaving Vic.

 

[manicmagpie]

Interesting take.

No SA premiership for 20+ years. GWS and GCS have never won one. Sydney consistently fall over at the last hurdle (maybe its a travel thing??).

Brisbane are an outlier and arguably the best team since themselves 20+ years ago.

You don't think the Adelaide teams only winning 2 of their last 8 finals at their home ground is more of a reason for their failure to win flags than the venue for the GF that they almost never make?

Collingwood have literally never won a premiership while having an unfair home ground advantage at any stage of the finals, by the way.

Didn’t you complain about playing opening round which you’re now not involved in and your first game of the season is against a marvel tenant at your home ground?

My heart BLEEDS for the challenges faced by the magpies.

We are involved in Opening Round. And as usual, we're being used as a cash cow for other teams' benefit, not ours.

The Pies travelling 3 times in the first 16 rounds. I'm glad my mob get their first three travels done by round 5.

Last season we travelled 3 times in our first 6 games. All anyone mentioned about that was that it was an advantage to not have much travel later on in the season. This year it's flipped and everyone will suddenly think that it's an advantage to travel later on.

I predict next year our travels will be evenly spread throughout the fixture, and everyone will change their tune again and decide that even spacing is the real advantage.

 

[Cam Payne]

We have a super hard fixture with difficult double ups.

I’m shocked you don’t understand why a Perth side would need to travel more than a Victorian side.

Little bit more crying from your coach should have you knot leave melbourne more than once a year.

 

[shaqsuns]

Wtf is wrong with the afl! Instead of having 8 stand alone games during easter, they decide to play rich vs port and WC vs Syd at the same time.

 

[MooreTreloar]

Im aware of that. Understand all the ramifications around it.

Its just a completely different set of rules they get to play by.

New season, same old posts from uneducated supporters. Or maybe they just don’t read the full fixture, I don’t know.

Collingwood leave Victoria 6 times, just like Essendon, Carlton and St Kilda. Those final two team don’t leave Victoria after early to late June. Collingwood on the other hand leave Victoria 3 times after late June.

But yeah only Collingwood don’t travel.

 

[10571z]

Little bit more crying from your coach should have you knot leave melbourne more than once a year.

Our travel has been on par with most Victorian clubs who don’t sell games.

 

[MooreTreloar]

Our travel has been on par with most Victorian clubs who don’t sell games.

Come on now, most people here aren’t smart enough to work that out. Or if they are they just can’t get over their hatred of Collingwood to admit it.

 

[Rail King]

Come on now, most people here aren’t smart enough to work that out. Or if they are they just can’t get over their hatred of Collingwood to admit it.

Yep, Collingwood haters aren't the brightest bunch. They are VERY predictable in their stupidity though.

 

[Giant YoYo]

Wtf is wrong with the afl! Instead of having 8 stand alone games during easter, they decide to play rich vs port and WC vs Syd at the same time.

Except they're not at the same time - if you're looking at an AFL graphic it's displaying local times.

Rich v Port is at 4:15 pm AEDT and WC v Sydney at 7:35pm AEDT east coast time.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Reckon the AFL and the broadcaster will regret pretty quickly Carltons regular prime time fixturing

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Pretty sure most Vic teams including Collingwood leave Vic 5 times not including gather round, Pies, without checking every Vic team are the same as Essendon, Hawthorn and Geelong in leaving Vic.

Excluding Gather Round and selling home games:

Geelong [6]

• OR vs Gold Coast
• R7 vs Port Adelaide
• R10 vs Brisbane Lions
• R13 vs Adelaide
• R15 vs Fremantle
• R18 vs GWS

Western Bulldogs [6]

• OR vs Brisbane Lions
• R2 vs Adelaide
• R9 vs Port Adelaide
• R17 vs Sydney
• R19 vs Gold Coast
• R21 vs Fremantle

Melbourne [6] - Also travelling an additional time for their NT-based home game.

• R2 vs Fremantle
• R8 vs Sydney
• R15 vs Adelaide
• R16 vs Hawthorn (TASMANIA)
• R21 vs Gold Coast
• R23 vs Port Adelaide

North Melbourne [6] - Also travelling an additional 2 times for their WA-based home games.

• R2 vs West Coast
• R7 vs GWS
• R10 vs Adelaide
• R17 vs Port Adelaide
• R21 vs Hawthorn (TASMANIA)
• R24 vs Sydney

St Kilda [5]

• R2 vs GWS
• R6 vs Adelaide
• R9 vs Gold Coast
• R11 vs Fremantle
• R13 vs Sydney

Carlton [5]

• R1 vs Sydney
• R7 vs Fremantle
• R9 vs Brisbane Lions
• R11 vs Port Adelaide
• R15 vs GWS

Essendon [5]

• R2 vs Port Adelaide
• R6 vs Gold Coast
• R9 vs GWS
• R12 vs West Coast
• R18 vs Brisbane Lions

Collingwood [5]

• R4 vs Brisbane Lions
• R10 vs Sydney
• R17 vs Gold Coast
• R19 vs Adelaide
• R22 vs West Coast

Hawthorn [5] - Also travelling an additional 4 times for their TAS-based home games.

• OR vs GWS
• R9 vs Fremantle
• R15 vs Gold Coast
• R22 vs Brisbane Lions
• R24 vs West Coast

Richmond [4] - Also travelling an additional time for their TAS-based home game.

• R3 vs Fremantle
• R8 vs West Coast
• R12 vs Sydney
• R22 vs Adelaide

Including Gather Round and selling home games

• Hawthorn = 10
• North Melbourne = 9
• Melbourne = 8
• Geelong = 7
• Western Bulldogs = 7
• St Kilda = 6
• Carlton = 6
• Essendon = 6
• Collingwood = 6
• Richmond = 6