Fixture 2026 Fixture

[pK75]

This is a great fixture for us and we should be looking at that and thinking a top 4 spot is the line for a good season.
Carlton and Melbourne are the two teams who lost the most in trade week so we are looking at double ups against 3 of the bottom 4 teams.
0 Tas
0 NSW
1 QLD
1 ACT
3 SA
5 VIC
13 WA
Is this the least kms we’ve ever been scheduled ?

 

[2big2strom]

So funny watching people trying to predict wins based on the fixture

hard disagree! start the ****ing bus, get ready to cross the Nullarbor because we are heading deep into September

 

[anchor man]

To me the fixture is what it is. We have to play all of them at some stage.
Regardless of what we want, it is up to the AFL to give us what they want.
I am sure there will be a scramble for tickets to the game in Bunbury against the Roos.Going to be a lot of disappointed members I reckon.

 

[Tonga Bob]

SM team getting praise from Tom Morris for the fixture drop:



SM team getting praise from Boof Lehmann for the fixture drop:

 

[Jezzitizle]

Like the draw. Think cats r1 is perfect, chance to make up for this year, boys will be up for it.

Plenty of primetime, double ups are good.

I was sure we would get the 4 double games against top opponents.

Also like the run into finals.

 

[Quay Club]

Opened up the fixture expecting fairness and the reverse of last year.

Us playing opening round and Geelong playing us at home first up in Round 1.

But no, the Status Quo is maintained and we are off to Alphabet stadium underdone and playing a decent team with a game under their belt again.

Imagine the uproar from Geelong if the reverse happened and they copped it two years in a row.

Fairness doesn't come into the AFL thinking these days.

Oh well let's see if we have learnt anything from our preparation last year and can channel 2013 with Murph doing a Stephen Hill

32

Stephen Hill

Age

35

Ht

183cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.5

5star

K

11.7

4star

HB

7.8

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.9

4star

MG

223.5

3star

D

13.5

3star

K

8.8

4star

HB

4.8

3star

M

4.8

4star

T

0.8

1star

MG

223.5

3star

D

11.2

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

5.8

4star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.8

5star

!

 

[Randomizor]

Opened up the fixture expecting fairness and the reverse of last year.

Us playing opening round and Geelong playing us at home first up in Round 1.

But no, the Status Quo is maintained and we are off to Alphabet stadium underdone and playing a decent team with a game under their belt again.

Imagine the uproar from Geelong if the reverse happened and they copped it two years in a row.

Fairness doesn't come into the AFL thinking these days.

Oh well let's see if we have learnt anything from our preparation last year and can channel 2013 with Murph doing a Stephen Hill!

Season hasn’t even started and already the excuses are warming up

 

[eastfreo75]

Night games in Melbourne are crap for me. If I want to go to them I'd need to take a half day off work to get there and I wouldn't get home until 2am at the earliest.

Not as bad as you have it. I get home at 12am.

 

[Purple Suit]

Opened up the fixture expecting fairness and the reverse of last year.

Us playing opening round and Geelong playing us at home first up in Round 1.

But no, the Status Quo is maintained and we are off to Alphabet stadium underdone and playing a decent team with a game under their belt again.

Imagine the uproar from Geelong if the reverse happened and they copped it two years in a row.

Fairness doesn't come into the AFL thinking these days.

Oh well let's see if we have learnt anything from our preparation last year and can channel 2013 with Murph doing a Stephen Hill!

I was looking it up and thought I'd somehow brought up the 2025 fixture again.

Like the draw. Think cats r1 is perfect, chance to make up for this year, boys will be up for it.

Plenty of primetime, double ups are good.

I was sure we would get the 4 double games against top opponents.

Also like the run into finals.

We got belted when the cyclone cancelled the Cats opening round game. I like our chances less than last year if they actually play it.

 

[Jezzitizle]

I was looking it up and thought I'd somehow brought up the 2025 fixture again.


We got belted when the cyclone cancelled the Cats opening round game. I lie our chances less than last year if they actually play it.

Off a losing granny, we won’t be as dumb this time around.

Perfect opportunity for a big statement.

 

[Andy Brennan]

Going in blind

Are you saying my predictions will be more accurate if I drink 15 beers? Cause I will

 

[BStaff17]

Literally only the Matildas playing will make it worthwhile holding at Optus.

They better hope for that

The racist Sam Kerr being the highest profile player is surely the only reason Perth are holding the Asian cup how the hell did Melbourne not get any games

 

[88mph]

Brisbane in Brisbane, followed by North Melbourne in Bunbury - that's gotta be the most travel for any team in a single week.

 

[clivenator26]

Opened up the fixture expecting fairness and the reverse of last year.

Us playing opening round and Geelong playing us at home first up in Round 1.

But no, the Status Quo is maintained and we are off to Alphabet stadium underdone and playing a decent team with a game under their belt again.

Imagine the uproar from Geelong if the reverse happened and they copped it two years in a row.

Fairness doesn't come into the AFL thinking these days.

Oh well let's see if we have learnt anything from our preparation last year and can channel 2013 with Murph doing a Stephen Hill!

Is 4 months not enough time to prepare? Fair dinkum does one week matter that much?

We played a decent team with a game under their belt and won in 2024, they even went on to win the flag!

 

[Raz]

hard disagree! start the ****ing bus, get ready to cross the Nullarbor because we are heading deep into September

If we make GF I will fly home and watch in a bar somewhere , unlikely to get tickets to game but just to be with some freo fans will be great

 

[Vintage]

View attachment 2475915

Not too bad overall

I’m not a fan of the back to back to back 6 day breaks - that’s a shocker, especially when the teams we come up against in week 2 and 3 of that have had at least a 7 day break.

So we play Sunday, then Saturday (Carlton on a 9 day break), then Friday (bulldogs on 8 day break) then thursday (hawks on 7 day break). That’s crap.

 

[mattis117]

Dont matter whom we play. we should try to win every game and venue.

When we can compete with the best with short turnarounds between games. inexpericence on MCG or other grounds.

No matter the odds. then we know we are heading to a GF and a premiership

While we make excuses , some which maybe very real, we will continue to accept mediocrity. Dontblame the AFL, the UMPRIES etc. Own our mistakes and overcome all adversities thrown at us

Become a champion club despite the negatives.

As opposed by not trying or actively trying to lose?

 

[Purple Suit]

Is 4 months not enough time to prepare? Fair dinkum does one week matter that much?

We played a decent team with a game under their belt and won in 2024, they even went on to win the flag!

The stats are a 75% winning ratio of the team that gets a head start from 8 games so far across 2 seasons. There are six more in 26 so the AFL are making the problem bigger.

1 extra win last year would have got us third or if we just reverse the 75% who won in Rd 1 with that advantage, Freo finish 4th and play Adelaide week 1 of the finals.

It’s a compromise that really doesn’t have to happen if the AFL wanted to make it fair.

 

[Jezzitizle]

The stats are a 75% winning ratio of the team that gets a head start from 8 games so far across 2 seasons. There are six more in 26 so the AFL are making the problem bigger.

1 extra win last year would have got us third or if we just reverse the 75% who won in Rd 1 with that advantage, Freo finish 4th and play Adelaide week 1 of the finals.

It’s a compromise that really doesn’t have to happen if the AFL wanted to make it fair.

Didn’t look at 2024, but for 2025 the winners were teams I would have tipped to win.

I would prefer to scrap opening round, it is ridiculous, but it would be misleading to say it led to a 75% winning percentage.

 

[Purple Suit]

Didn’t look at 2024, but for 2025 the winners were teams I would have tipped to win.

I would prefer to scrap opening round, it is ridiculous, but it would be misleading to say it led to a 75% winning percentage.

It’s not misleading, it’s a fact.

If we just look at the 2025 games, 3 went to the favorites but Port made a prelim vs Pies missing finals and they got destroyed.

The Essendon v Hawks game was close after 1/4 time when Essendon woke up. I recon that is a much closer game without the advantage.

GWS won by 3 points over Melbourne, so any advantage would have had ramifications in that game.

Round 1 usually throws up strange results, eg Richmond over Carlton. By doing opening round it takes a lot of those out of the equation. I hate it.

 

[Paracleet]

It’s not misleading, it’s a fact.

If we just look at the 2025 games, 3 went to the favorites but Port made a prelim vs Pies missing finals and they got destroyed.

The Essendon v Hawks game was close after 1/4 time when Essendon woke up. I recon that is a much closer game without the advantage.

GWS won by 3 points over Melbourne, so any advantage would have had ramifications in that game.

Round 1 usually throws up strange results, eg Richmond over Carlton. By doing opening round it takes a lot of those out of the equation. I hate it.

It is definitely misleading to claim it provides a 75% advantage because 75% of the teams coming off round 0 won, unless you account for what the probabilities in a regular match up would have been first.

Conversely if you believe every game is a 50/50 then I would like you to take some bets from me this season..

 

[BarbieITFC]

For those complaining about Round 1 at Kardinia - just some perspective.

Last year, we bounced down at 10:15am Western Time, and just like every other time we have a stupid early morning kick off (as far as the team's body clock goes) we're caught cold. We're 7-8 goals down by half time, produce a remarkable third quarter comeback to within 2-3 goals (once we'd woken up) but ran out of legs in Q4.

Just 12 months before in Round 2 away to North, we had a 10:30am bouncedown (Western Time) at Marvel, we're 7 goals down midway through Q2. The only difference is that when we then go on to kick 10 unanswered goals through to 3/4 time, we discover we're only playing North and they don't have the quality to punch back.

Same again, Round 1 in 2021. At the MCG against the Demons. 10:30am (Western) bouncedown. We're 6 goals down early in 2nd Quarter before we kick our first goal.

Forget 5/6 day breaks. Forget playing in Tassie. Forget the number of flights or distance flown. The single worst factor in any Freo fixture is a pre-11am (Western) bouncedown - and we don't have a single one in the first 15 rounds announced yesterday.

Jet lag after internal flights is a thing that only West Aussies experience and it's the first thing I look for when the fixture is released.

 

[Alfonz]

For those complaining about Round 1 at Kardinia - just some perspective.

Last year, we bounced down at 10:15am Western Time, and just like every other time we have a stupid early morning kick off (as far as the team's body clock goes) we're caught cold. We're 7-8 goals down by half time, produce a remarkable third quarter comeback to within 2-3 goals (once we'd woken up) but ran out of legs in Q4.

Just 12 months before in Round 2 away to North, we had a 10:30am bouncedown (Western Time) at Marvel, we're 7 goals down midway through Q2. The only difference is that when we then go on to kick 10 unanswered goals through to 3/4 time, we discover we're only playing North and they don't have the quality to punch back.

Same again, Round 1 in 2021. At the MCG against the Demons. 10:30am (Western) bouncedown. We're 6 goals down early in 2nd Quarter before we kick our first goal.

Forget 5/6 day breaks. Forget playing in Tassie. Forget the number of flights or distance flown. The single worst factor in any Freo fixture is a pre-11am (Western) bouncedown - and we don't have a single one in the first 15 rounds announced yesterday.

Jet lag after internal flights is a thing that only West Aussies experience and it's the first thing I look for when the fixture is released.

This was raised last year and Adam Simpson dismissed it pretty quickly, saying if anything the early time should actually help because it is closest to when the majority of training sessions are run.

 

[Purple Suit]

It is definitely misleading to claim it provides a 75% advantage because 75% of the teams coming off round 0 won, unless you account for what the probabilities in a regular match up would have been first.

Conversely if you believe every game is a 50/50 then I would like you to take some bets from me this season..

I never claimed it provides a 75% advantage, I was just stating the winning ratio statistic. If you look at all games, 50% is the outcome. Home vs Away is 55% v 45% last year for reference with one simple factor.

There are too many factors for it to be simplified into just one metric but my point is that is definitely an advantage there.

 

[Eski3]

This was raised last year and Adam Simpson dismissed it pretty quickly, saying if anything the early time should actually help because it is closest to when the majority of training sessions are run.

Adam Simpson is a media man now, the powers at fox footy can't have you saying that a Victorian team winning had anything other to do with the Victorian team playing a Victorian game in a superior Victorian way

It’s business time: The simple change that sets Freo up for road success

AFL.com.au's Nathan Schmook joined the Dockers on the road for their trip to face Gold Coast

www.afl.com.au

This article notes that jet lag, particular for early games, is a clear and unavoidable issue. It seems like about 3 quarters of the list deal with it in a particular way, but there's clearly some disruption, with evidence that is may affect the early season results more heavily before the travel routine becomes settled