Herald Sun Footy Podcast: Winners and losers from AFL’s fixture reveal unveiled

The AFL has released its fixture over the last third of the season. GLENN McFARLANE and ANDY BELLAIRS unpack the winners and losers on the Herald Sun Footy Podcast.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. May 5, 2024. AFL Round 9.. Carlton vs. Melbourne at the MCG. Patrick Cripps of the Blues leads his team off the MCG. Pic: Michael Klein

The AFL released the next batch of its fixture on Tuesday, with just one final week in Round 24 yet to be unveiled.

Carlton and the Western Bulldogs are the only clubs with five-day breaks in the new block of games, while five clubs – the Crows, Lions, Pies, Dees and Dogs – will enjoy a nine-day break.

The Herald Sun’s Glenn McFarlane and Andy Bellairs unpacked the winners and losers from the seven weeks of new fixtures on the Herald Sun Footy Podcast.

WINNERS

Collingwood

McFarlane said the Pies were the big winners out of the new fixture.

“They’re just starting to play some really good, high-octane footy and they’ve got three Friday night games and the new sexy spot which is the Saturday twilight, which has become an interesting fixture,” he said.

Essendon

The Bombers are the ace in the fixturing pack from the AFL, said McFarlane.

“The one you wouldn’t have expected early on in the year was Essendon being a big winner, they miss out on the round 16 Friday night games purely from a break perspective but they get three really important Friday night games, which are the Pies, Crows and then Sydney in Round 23. They’re big clashes and they’ve earned it, let’s be honest.”

Harry McKay and the Blues are set for a fixturing bump in the back-end of the year. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Carlton

The navy Blue “juggernaut” is one of the winners of the fixture upheaval, according to McFarlane.

“The navy blue juggernaut is well and truly back and they’ve got a few fixtures which are in relatively good timeslots for Blues supporters, including that Friday night game and big Saturday night game which could push 90,000,” he said.

LOSERS

Thursday night footy

Max Gawn leads the Demons onto the field on Thursday night. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Both Bellairs and McFarlane said Thursday night footy was the big loser from the fixture, with the league dropping the marquee game for the back-end of the season.

While the AFL would forge ahead with them next year, Bellairs said it wasn’t a timeslot which worked for everyone.

“I think it obviously works for a television audience, for the live audience you understand why it’s hard, for kids – the next generation, if you want them to come along, you’re not getting home until 11.30pm,” he said.

North Melbourne

McFarlane said the Roos were always going to be dealt a tough hand by the league after going winless in their opening nine games.

“North Melbourne were always going to be a loser and they’ve got six of those eight games in that 1.45 Saturday timeslot,” McFarlane said.

North Melbourne are in for a run of 1.45pm games across the country to see out the season. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images.

Richmond

The Tigers have been relegated to Sunday timeslots for most of the remaining fixture, with just three of the eight games released scheduled for Saturdays.

Just two of those games come in a Saturday night timeslot, marking a major fall from grace for the Tigers as the wheels well and truly come off, with just 26 fit men this weekend.

Originally published as Herald Sun Footy Podcast: Winners and losers from AFL’s fixture reveal unveiled