AFL 2023: AFL’s round 16-23 schedule to have extra Thursday game
The Bombers and Pies are on a collision course for a finals-deciding battle to finish 2023 in prime time. Check out all you need to know about the AFL’s end of season fixture.
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The extraordinary popularity of Thursday night has seen the AFL schedule an extra contest this year, committing to 12 games across the home-and-away season and finals.
The AFL’s round 16-23 schedule will be revealed on Thursday, with the AFL to retain its round 24 floating fixture until weeks before that round to create maximum fixture drama in the last nine games.
The Herald Sun understands Collingwood will receive four Friday night clashes in those eight rounds and could be a contender for the round 24 Essendon-Pies clash.
The league customarily schedules five Thursday games to start the season and then five mid-season across the bye periods.
But this year the league will schedule Thursday night contests in rounds 16, 17 and 18 as well as the three games already locked in for rounds 13-15.
A Thursday night contest to kick off the finals series will make it a dozen contests across the year.
The league has locked in 15 Thursday night games in the first 15 rounds from 2025 onwards but is still trying to broker a deal on two five-day breaks for 2024 to allow more Thursday night games next year.
While fans want Thursday night footy every week there is feeling at AFL House that they will only schedule it when they can slot in marquee contests.
As the season comes to its conclusion with more teams out of finals calculations it is more challenging to find Thursday and Friday marquee contests.
The Showdown in round 20 will be a Saturday night clash with the league declining to hand Adelaide a Friday night stand-alone clash against Port Adelaide despite what might be one of the games of the season.
As much as those games consistently deliver drama and a fierce contest they would be less likely to draw massive ratings for broadcasters on a Friday night.
Collingwood will host Carlton on the Friday night of round 20, and as a ratings and attendance powerhouse the Pies will be richly rewarded with that quartet of Friday night games.
That contest is expected to be Carlton’s only Friday night contest in the newly-released batch of rounds after a heavy dose in the first 15 rounds.
The Blues having to win on the last day of the home-and-away season to make finals after last year’s flame-out would be a perfect finish to what is shaping as an exceptional season.
The Western Bulldogs are hopeful of securing a Friday night clash in round 17 against Collingwood but it is not known if the league has handed them that clash.
If the Pies are handed a round 23 Friday night clash against Brisbane it would make them a strong contender to play the Friday night clash of round 24 against Essendon.
Teams playing on the Sunday of round 23 would be less likely to play on the Friday of round 24 given the league prefers not to hand teams five-day breaks.
Originally published as AFL 2023: AFL’s round 16-23 schedule to have extra Thursday game
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