AFLW 2026 Fixture

[Teen Wolf]

Thread for news, musings and whatnot related to the 2026 AFLW fixture.

The season is expected to start in mid August (probably Thursday 13th), with the grand final to be played on the last Saturday in November again.

There has been practically no indication that anything different will be done this year in regards to venue choices, double-headers, and integration with the men's fixture. Nor has there been a lot of realistic solutions put forth to counter some trends which are making every finals series a tad too predictable.

Nevertheless there are changes that could be made to improve these things, and we may detail some in subsequent posts. I know I will.

 

[Teen Wolf]

But first in breaking news, having played the past 8 AFLW seasons at Victoria Park (the home of sinkholes and dogshit), I can reveal Collingwood this evening have decided on the perfect new venue for 2026:

 

[The Nostradamus]

would like to see the teams that a team did not get to play last year would be guaranteed to play next year

should not be going 2 years without playing a team like has been done in the past

 

[Teen Wolf]

Round 1 next year should be something like this imo:



2 matches max on at any given time. Six double-headers across the Saturday and Sunday, plus a standalone AFLW midday match each day. All double-headers have the women playing directly after the men (ideally 15 min. turnaround) which avoids basically all the problems of curtain-raisers.

Obviously the men's fixture for this stage of the season is floating, but my example is more to demonstrate the general framework for how it should be approached. Add some buzz and excitement to AFLW opening round by doing things a little different and special, ffs.

You might notice I've also got the season starting a week earlier, which I'll explain in my plans for R2.

 

[Teen Wolf]

The reason I'd start the season a week earlier is that it would allow splitting Round 2 across a fortnight, to look something like this:





This makes it much easier to lock in decent slots for AFLW while working around the climax of the men's H&A season.

Once again, no more than 2 games on at once. Double-headers where possible and the women always playing 2nd. If the men's fixture turns out to be different, there's still plenty of room to alter the AFLW games because there's only 4-5 per weekend.

Some would wonder whether it's ideal for the players to have a week off so early into the season. What we do know is players are more prone to ACL injuries when fatigued, which would explain why there's a higher ACL injury rate early in the season when players are still building match fitness. Furthermore, extra recovery between games at any point would ease the stress on 30-player lists for clubs dealing with a lot of short-term injuries.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Another thing I think needs re-examination is the finals system.

Since the move to an 8-team finals, we've had 4 consecutive years of a team getting booted out via straight sets. And only Melbourne's exit wasn't massively predictable.

Another predictable thing about finals atm is the prelims. Home teams are now 14-0 in these games. And no doubt part of this is because, since 2021, they're not just home teams but also teams coming off a week's break. Playing against teams running on empty.

Solution:



Cut the finals down to three weeks, starting with 1v8 2v7 3v6 4v5 and a straight knockout from there. This puts everybody in the same boat wrt rest/fatigue, and you don't have unworthy teams gifted Double Chance limelight every year.

Make up for the lost week with a 13th H&A round. This means an extra game to sort the ladder out, which certainly couldn't hurt.

13 rounds is prone to fixture inequality, but that can be resolved with a Gather Round at Marvel or Ballarat or Wherever and you just have each Vic team play another Vic team while the non-Vics all play each other.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

This Victorian gather round gaining momentum is hilarious given the non-vic clubs complained about a defacto gather round in season 7 and 8

 

[Teen Wolf]

Less hilarious once one comprehends complaints about concept vs complaints about execution.

Sydney using one of their home games to play Hawthorn in Melbourne obviously has no momentum.

But to have Sydney and say Brisbane playing each other in Melbourne on the Friday night before their men's teams play in a GF, without either AFLW team losing any of their home games... well the difference is clear.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Here are the most overdue matchups, followed by the ones most in need of a sea change.


Last time these clubs met

Adelaide v Carlton – 2022 S6
North Melb. v West Coast – 2022 S6

Brisbane v GWS Giants – 2022 S7
Carlton v Melbourne – 2022 S7
Essendon v Port Adelaide – 2022 S7
Geelong v St Kilda – 2022 S7

Adelaide v W. Bulldogs – 2023
Collingwood v Essendon – 2023
Collingwood v Fremantle – 2023
Collingwood v Geelong – 2023
Fremantle v Gold Coast – 2023
GWS Giants v North Melb. – 2023
Hawthorn v Sydney – 2023
Port Adelaide v Sydney – 2023

Absurd. When we've got teams missing each other for 4 consecutive seasons, you'd have to wonder what the AFL's douchey haired fixture guy is getting paid for. Wears grandma's glasses, apparently doesn't own a tie, and can't perform the world's cushiest job at a baseline level of competency.


Change of scenery required

Adelaide v W. Bulldogs – last 5 in SA
Collingwood v GWS Giants – all 5 in VIC

Geelong v Gold Coast – all 4 in QLD
North Melb. v Port Adelaide – last 4 in VIC
Port Adelaide v West Coast – all 4 in WA

Adelaide v GWS Giants – last 3 in NSW/ACT
Adelaide v Richmond – all 3 in VIC (check)
Brisbane v Richmond – last 3 in QLD
Brisbane v St Kilda – last 3 in VIC
Collingwood v St Kilda – last 3 at RSEA Park
Essendon v St Kilda – all 3 at Windy Hill
Fremantle v Gold Coast – all 3 in WA
Geelong v GWS Giants – last 3 in VIC
Geelong v Hawthorn – all 3 at GMHBA Stadium
Geelong v Richmond – last 3 at RICH
Gold Coast v North Melb. – all 3 in VIC/TAS
Gold Coast v Richmond – last 3 in VIC
Gold Coast v W. Bulldogs – last 3 in QLD
North Melb. v St Kilda – all 3 at NM
North Melb. v Sydney – all 3 in VIC/TAS
Richmond v St Kilda – all 3 at STK
Richmond v West Coast – last 3 in WA
Sydney v West Coast – all 3 in NSW

And these counts do include finals, so it would probably also be a good idea to break Melbourne’s 7-match streak of hosting North Melbourne in the H&A season, for instance.