AFL fixture locked in for rounds 16-23 as Blues, Dogs big winners
The AFL has locked in the fixture for the back half of the season. Will we finally see a prime-time Showdown? See every game for rounds 16-24
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THE AFL has tapped into the Western Bulldogs’ drama-fuelled season and their high-scoring, attractive style to deliver Luke Beveridge’s side a blockbuster round 16-23 fixture.
The league on Thursday locked in its dates and times for those eight weeks of football and handed the Dogs five of their eight games in marquee timeslots.
The league has also scheduled a trio of Friday night double headers in rounds 17, 20 and 23 as it continued to experiment with double-up Friday clashes.
The Dogs have three Friday night games – against Sydney (round 16), Brisbane (round 19) and Essendon (round 2) as well as two Thursday night games.
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The Roos will host the Dogs in a round 17 Thursday night game that will become the club’s centenary occasion.
Carlton has four Thursday night clashes and a Friday night clash which rewards their massive pulling power even despite their slow start to the season.
And Collingwood has two Thursday night games and two Friday night contests.
Essendon has a trio of Friday night clashes in rounds 20, 22 and 23.
Gold Coast receives its first Friday night game in its short history, hosting Collingwood in round 18 at People First Stadium.
In round 17 Carlton hosts Collingwood before West Coast takes on GWS, in round 20 Essendon hosts the Dogs only half an hour before GWS hosts Sydney at ENGIE Stadium.
And in round 23 Essendon hosts St Kilda before Fremantle hosts Brisbane.
Melbourne has been shut out of Thursday and Friday night contests, with King’s Birthday against Collingwood their only marquee slot.
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The Dogs round 18 MARS clash against Adelaide has been moved to Marvel Stadium to boost the possible crowd from 48,000 to over 35,000.
Luke Beveridge’s side is only 5-4 on the win-loss tally ahead of a massive Saturday night clash against 5-3 Essendon but has proved very watchable given its array of stars and attractive style.
The AFL will give no indication of its round 24 floating fixture which is expected to see Gold Coast host Essendon in a Wednesday or Thursday night clash in the week leading into the pre-finals bye.
But Essendon, Carlton, Gold Coast and the Power all play on the Saturday of round 24, so will have to play on Thursday at the earliest in round 24 unless the AFL hands them four-day breaks.
As expected, the Adelaide v Port Adelaide Showdown will be a Saturday night clash despite the Crows’ lobbying for a Thursday or Friday night clash.
Fixture boss Josh Bowler said the AFL was keen to keep up the early-season momentum with record attendances and strong ratings.
“This season has delivered more Thursday nights than ever before with this key timeslot featuring in all AFL Rounds except Round 23 when we will see the exciting inaugural AFLW re-match between Carlton and Collingwood kick off the 10th NAB AFLW season,” he said.
“This back end of the season fixture is aimed at maximising momentum into the finals which is shaping up to be one of the tightest races in recent history.
“We are excited to schedule a number of Friday night double headers aimed at maximising primetime audience whilst also managing team travel and breaks between games,” he said.
The Dogs had told this masthead earlier this month they had no plans to relocate a game back to Melbourne this year or next given the limited capacity at MARS Stadium.
A redevelopment of the stand meant that their game against Port Adelaide was played with only 4800 fans able to watch the contest and spectators on TV seeing a construction zone in the background of the contest.
But the AFL has been happy to oblige the Dogs to bring that contest back to Melbourne.
The Dogs have a contract with the Ballarat council and state government to play games at the stadium until 2027 and will consider in the future when to make up that relocated game.
Originally published as AFL fixture locked in for rounds 16-23 as Blues, Dogs big winners
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