Adelaide Crows 2024 fixture: Thursday night Showdown the highlight as every game revealed

Adelaide pressed the AFL for a better fixture as redress for last season’s goal umpiring debacle. And, on first look, the Crows got their wish, including the first prime time Showdown.

Adelaide’s push for more marquee match-ups has been rewarded with five prime time home games next year, including a historic Thursday night Showdown.

Having pressed the AFL for a better fixture as redress for the goal umpiring error howler against Sydney in round 23, the Crows have received a 2024 draw littered with Adelaide Oval blockbusters and light on off-Broadway away matches in a big win for the club.

Adelaide’s first four home games will be in prime time, starting with Geelong in round 2 on Friday night, March 22.

The Crows then face Melbourne in a huge Thursday night, Gather Round clash in round 4 on April 4, before hosting Essendon two weeks later on Friday, April 19.

But the crown jewel of Adelaide’s draw is that it will finally receive a stand-alone Showdown in prime time that the club has long been seeking.

It hosted the first Friday night Showdown in 2022, though that clashed with Melbourne playing Essendon at the MCG.

Next year SA’s marquee match will kick off round 8 as the only game on Thursday night, May 2.

Taylor Walker and the Crows will take on Port Adelaide in the first prime-time Showdown in 2024. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos

The Crows also host Richmond on Thursday night in round 13 on June 6.

In all, Adelaide has three clashes on Thursday, three on Friday, six on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Last season, the club featured just once on a Thursday or Friday – in Gather Round at home against Carlton.

The Crows also got their wish to play fewer matches outside the main city venues.

This past season, Adelaide ventured to Launceston, Geelong, Ballarat and Darwin over a seven-week stretch from rounds 6 to 12.

In 2024, there will be two games of that ilk – a trip to Hobart to play North Melbourne in round 7 and another visit to GMHBA Stadium to face the Cats in round 21.

The Crows will start their campaign on the road for a second consecutive campaign, taking on the Suns on the Gold Coast on Saturday night, March 16.

They also head to Perth (round 3 against Fremantle), Brisbane (round 17), Sydney (round 24 versus the Swans) and have four games in Melbourne.

Adelaide kicked of Gather Round on a Thursday night this year. Picture: Phil Hillyard

A disappointment for Adelaide is it again has just two matches at the MCG: Collingwood in round 10 on May 18 and Hawthorn in round 12 on June 1.

Of the teams the Crows play twice, three were finalists this year (Lions, Power, Swans), two narrowly missed the top eight (Bombers, Cats) and one finished in the bottom three (Hawks).

Adelaide fans will have to wait until round 14 for its home rematch against Sydney.

The AFL released the 2024 fixture on Thursday, which included locking in times and dates for all games until round 16.

Adelaide’s draw includes eight night matches, three day clashes and three twilight kick offs.

The Crows have a bye in the opening round, which is being played in Sydney and Queensland from March 7 to 9.

Analysis: Crows get rewarded for that goal review?

It is not four premiership points, entry into the finals or the chance to replay the last minute against Sydney.

But Adelaide’s 2024 fixture is a nice consolation and some compensation from the AFL for the goal umpiring blunder that dudded the club in the dying stages of the round 23 home loss to the Swans.

The Crows were immensely frustrated in the aftermath of Ben Keays being denied a potential matchwinning goal in the last game of the season.

On Thursday, the club had reason to smile, having been handed a draw full of marquee Adelaide Oval matches that could maximise attendances and had key requests granted.

A first stand-alone Showdown in prime time – on Thursday night in round 8 – is the headline fixture and is well overdue.

The Crows have been long pushed for arguably the league’s best rivalry – and one that often dishes up thrillers – to be given the timeslot it deserves without clashing against another match.

The Ben Keays goal review from last season. Picture: Fox Sports

Without a finals appearance since 2017 and coming off a 14th-placed finish in 2022, Adelaide was given just one prime time match last season – in Gather Round against Carlton.

The Crows smashed the Blues by 56 points, were the competition’s highest scoring side across the campaign and were in the top-eight mix yet did not get another Thursday or Friday night game.

Next year, Adelaide has five Thursday or Friday night clashes at home before round 16 – a clear reward for both the Swans error and the Crows’ attractive, fan-friendly playing style.

Those games – against Geelong, Melbourne, Essendon, the Power and Richmond – should draw big crowds and plenty of eyeballs.

And they loom as important tests for Adelaide’s finals credentials under bright lights with the footy world watching.

A big reason why the Crows missed the top eight in 2023 was its lousy, 2-8 away record.

Adelaide’s first home game for 2024 is against Geelong on a Friday night. Picture: Michael Klein

Three of those defeats (Brisbane, Collingwood, Melbourne) were by six points or fewer, but just as costly was the four-goal collapse against Gold Coast in Darwin in round 12.

Darwin was one of four “off-Broadway” grounds the Crows travelled to during a gruelling, seven-week span that included trips to Geelong, Ballarat and Launceston.

The only win of that lot came against Hawthorn in Tasmania.

That run of off-Broadway games were another frustration for the Crows and one they wanted addressed, so getting just two regional games next season is another big tick.

Travel cannot be used as any sort of excuse if the Crows miss the top eight again in 2024.

Adelaide is desperate to return to the finals next year.

Games are not won on paper, but this draw gives the club a good chance to do just that while going a small way to ease the disappointment of how 2023 finished.