AFL 2021 schedule: Opening round date locked in for March 18; teams prepare for 22-round season

The start date and number of rounds for the 2021 season has been confirmed but the ever-present threat of COVID-19 means a fixture release will have to wait.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has announced a start date for the 2021 season. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Richmond expects to kick off its back-to-back title defence in front of its fans as part of the 2021 season opener against Carlton on March 18 at the MCG.

The AFL on Friday announced it would revert to a 22-round season next year following a volatile COVID-hit season that was largely played out in Queensland.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said the league had settled on March 18 to kickstart next year.

No other games have been revealed.

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Richmond did not unfurl its 2019 premiership flag this year because crowds were banned from games in the lead up to Round 1. It will unfurl its two flags next year.

Crowds will be back next season, with sizes yet to be determined.

The MCG Boxing Day Test expects to host 25,000 people.

McLachlan said the details of next year’s fixture could be delayed until late February because of the ongoing COVID-19 threat.

He said the league did not want to release details now and then have to rip them up closer to the start of the season.

Dustin Martin fends off Marc Murphy when Richmond played Carlton in Round 1 this year. Picture: AAP

“Our plan and our start date will be 18 March next year with a 22-round season,” McLachlan said.

“Standing here today, the South Australian border is closed to multiple states, Western Australia has been closed for many months.

“The discussion we had was the later we can release the fixture, the more certainty we can give our clubs and players and supporters.

“We could put a fixture out slightly later in December, but we have borders closed at the moment and three or four months before the season.

“So the conversation is primarily around our footy departments and our supporters (and) what do the clubs think is the latest we could release the fixture to give the most certainty for our footy departments and our supporters.

“That will be ongoing and we haven’t made a decision on when the fixture will be released.”

Gillon McLachlan knows 2021 may still be COVID-19 affected.

McLachlan flagged there could be a repeat of this year’s footy frenzy with a flurry of games played over a number of days,

“I know there’s a level of appetite and the players enjoyed that compressed period, which was something that maybe was not expected going in,” he said.

“The players enjoyed it and I think there’s an appetite from the clubs, so we’re having a look at it and no decision’s been made. “

Meanwhile, a decision on whether the Grand Final would be played at day or night has yet to be made.

The AFL is currently not planning for hubs next year, although “there will be contingencies” should they arrive.

“We stand here today having worked through a great collaboration with our clubs, our players, our venues, our supporters to get through this year,” McLachlan said.

“And what it’s taught us is things move fast, and we look to 2021 knowing COVID will still be around and we’ll have to work through it to an extent.”

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AFL floats radical 2021 fixture schedule

- Jon Ralph

The AFL has told clubs they can expect a radical shake-up of the AFL season next year including a floating fixture that sees the schedule released in blocks of as few as four weeks.

The league briefed club powerbrokers on the potential shape of the 2021 season on Thursday, including a significant departure from the traditional fixture.

AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan is expected to announce a significant departure from traditional scheduling. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

As revealed by the Herald Sun earlier this month, the league is keen to introduce a floating fixture that sees clubs handed chunks of the fixture in four or six-week blocks.

And the league is also keen to continue this year’s COVID-inspired Footy Frenzy that saw a condensed schedule where footy was played every day across an 18 or 20-day period.

The league might now push back its fixture release as late as February, although it would need to tell clubs before Round 1 which five opponents they played twice in any given season.

The league will be keen to kick off the 2020 season with a bang, with Richmond-Carlton the Thursday season opener and Collingwood-Western Bulldogs the natural Friday night clash given Adam Treloar’s move to the Dogs.

Adam Treloar’s move to the Western Bulldogs makes a match-up versus Collingwood a scheduling priority. Picture: Getty Images

The AFL believes this year’s Footy Frenzy turbocharged the fixture, with games on every night and outstanding ratings for broadcasters as many Australians endured lockdown.

Ideally the league would schedule at frenzy across a school holiday period and in northern states where clubs could play as many as three games across a week.

That condensed schedule would need to be ticked off by AFL players but might create more room for the multiple byes the AFLPA has been crying out to receive.

The AFL has been able to engender significant goodwill in the playing group by brokering a pay deal that sees the majority of players accepting only 3.5 per cent pay cuts next year.

The significant issue for the AFL with a floating fixture would be the lack of certainty for AFL fans flying interstate to watch their teams play.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has always said that certainty is a key reason the AFL locks in its season apart from a floating Round 23 fixture.

The AFL has signed an extended deal with free-to-air broadcaster Seven to the end of 2024 but is yet to agree to terms with Fox Footy on a new deal past its current agreement.

Originally published as AFL 2021 schedule: Opening round date locked in for March 18; teams prepare for 22-round season