AFL round 24 fixture: Essendon and Collingwood to kick off final round of the season

The AFL has released a round 24 fixture that is designed to orchestrate as much finals tension through the whole weekend as possible. See the full round 24 fixture.

Collingwood and Essendon will open the final round of the Home And Away season. Picture: Michael Klein

The AFL has leapt aboard the Carlton bandwagon by handing the Blues a rare Sunday night clash against GWS on the final day of the home-and-away season.

The league revealed its round 24 fixture on Monday with Essendon to host Collingwood in a Friday night MCG blockbuster.

Then Melbourne will host Sydney in a Sunday 3.20pm clash as the league attempts to orchestrate maximum tension in the final round of the year.

As revealed by this masthead on Monday, the Blues-GWS clash is a stand-alone 6.10pm game to maximise ratings in a game that still could have significant stakes.

While Carlton could have locked in a finals spot by then they might even be pushing for a top four spot, while GWS needs to win two of its last three games to play finals.

While the Blues may have locked in a finals berth by the final round, they may be pushing for a top 4 spot. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

In an ideal world Essendon would win on Friday night to leapfrog rivals in the eight and then fans would watch on as St Kilda, Geelong, Sydney and GWS fought for the last spots in the eight.

While some fans might quibble about another Sunday night game, the Carlton-Essendon Sunday clash starting at 7.10pm in round 13 drew 83,638 fans.

The Geelong-Western Bulldogs game is a Saturday night fixture at GMHBA Stadium, with Port Adelaide hosting Richmond in the early Sunday slot.

Brisbane hosts St Kilda at 4.35pm on Saturday, while North Melbourne hosts Gold Coast in Tasmania at 1.45pm on Saturday.

West Coast hosts Adelaide on Saturday night, and Port Adelaide takes on Richmond at Adelaide Oval in the early Sunday slot at 12.30pm Melbourne time.

The league’s three start times on Sunday – 12.30pm, 3.20pm, 6.10pm – are a broadcasters dream given there will be no overlap between the games.

The usual 1.10pm-3.20pm-4.40pm times on Sunday mean fans have to choose between games and rating suffer as a result

The AFL’s head of broadcast operations and scheduling Josh Bowler said the league was hopeful of maximum drama in the final round.

The Saints recent struggles mean they are no certainty to be in the hunt by round 24. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“The last few rounds have shown this finals race is very much still wide open and we have been

witnessing some incredible closely-fought matches,” said Mr Bowler.

“We expect these last three rounds will keep footy fans enthralled as the race for the top eight is decided.

“This last round could possibly see up to six games with both teams competing for a finals outcome which will make for a fitting conclusion to a record-breaking season so far.

“Sunday will see three back to back to back games, all with finals implications on the line. We have purposely spread the last three games on Sunday to give each match clear airtime as we crescendo into what is sure to be a hotly contested 2023 Toyota AFL Finals Series.

For a long time the Brisbane-St Kilda game looked like a natural Friday night clash but the Saints’ recent struggles mean they are no certainty to be in the hunt by round 24.

Carlton lost to Collingwood in the final seconds of their round 24 clash last year to miss the finals in a heartbreaking manner.

The league believes the way that final round played out helped continue the momentum of the season through the pre-finals bye, when the AFLW season kicked off.

The AFL is adamant it will keep the pre-finals bye because it allows all teams to freshen up, with new injuries to Nick Daicos and Harrison Petty allowing their clubs another week to fast-track their recoveries.

Since the pre-finals bye was brought in the Dogs have been able to win the premiership from outside the top four, while the AFL has reported record ratings and attendances.

With three home-and-away rounds remaining there are still 14 teams mathematically in the hunt for eighth spot, which is a marketers dream for the AFL.

Originally published as AFL round 24 fixture: Essendon and Collingwood to kick off final round of the season