AFL Fixture 2023: League confirms adjustment to weighted rule that will affect Hawthorn and Adelaide next year
The AFL’s weighted rule has helped bottom-six teams in the fixture since 2013. But there’s been a slight adjustment – and it’s not good news for two clubs.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hawthorn and Adelaide are the two biggest victims from a tweak to the AFL’s weighted rule, which will see the two clubs play an extra top-six team next year.
The AFL on Sunday confirmed it had adjusted the weighted rule to accommodate the extra round which means each club plays double-up games against six teams (instead of five) in 2023.
The league also confirmed there would be a pre-finals bye on September 2-3 next year, despite opposition from top-four clubs that it advantages teams in the lower part of the eight.
The change to the weighted rule dealt an extra hurdle for bottom-six teams Hawks and Crows who have to play two top-six teams in 2023.
It puts them on the same footing as top-six teams Collingwood and Melbourne who also only play two fellow top-six teams next year.
The Magpies welcomed their draw but paid a small price for the Anzac Day game falling on a Tuesday next year, meaning Collingwood only plays a total of three matches in the primetime Thursday and Friday night slots.
Essendon was also given double-up games against two top-six teams but will confront three teams below it on last year’s ladder from the bottom-six, in a boost for coach Brad Scott in his first year in charge
The Bombers’ fixture is considered one of the softer schedules, alongside cellar-dwellers North Melbourne and West Coast, who all have three double-up games against bottom-six sides.
Grand finalists Geelong and Sydney, and the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle face much tougher runs.
Previously, clubs who finished in the bottom-six played either zero or only one double-up game against top-six teams.
But the AFL has had to adjust the weighted rule to include the extra ‘Gather Round’ in South Australia next season which injects more money into the game.
Fixture boss Travis Auld there had been a low-key change to how the weighted system would work in 2023.
“The weighted rule remains central to the fixture, however we had to make an adjustment for the 24th round and add a sixth double-up match up for each club,” Auld said.
“You get a minimum of two and maximum of three double-up matches against teams in your bracket of six, and either one or two double-up games in each of the other two groups of six.”
FULL FIXTURE: SEE EVERY GAME FROM EVERY ROUND
The weighted rule, which divides the competition into a top-six, middle-six and bottom-six based on last year’s ladder, has been heavily supported by clubs and has been successful for helping create a more fair and interesting fixture since it was introduced in 2013.
But it means the Hawks tackle premiership contenders Fremantle and Melbourne twice and the Crows will meet Brisbane and Collingwood twice.
That is compared to other years where bottom-six clubs attempted to avoid any double-up games against premiership heavyweights.
Carlton is another club with two games against top-six teams as Michael Voss looks to steer the Blues back into the eight for the first time in a decade next year.
West Coast, North Melbourne, GWS Giants and St Kilda all play only one double-up game against the top-six teams.
Hawthorn was not given any Thursday or Friday night games in the first 15 rounds as Sam Mitchell faces a tough year in charge of the rebuilding Hawks who traded out star midfielders Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara.
The Hawks were handed the annual Easter Monday blockbuster clash against Geelong at the MCG but were otherwise locked out of the primetime spots.
‘It is what it is’: AFL responds to Socceroos fixture clash
- Matt Turner
The AFL has defended releasing the opening round of the 2023 fixture during the Socceroos’ World Cup match, saying it has “a track record of being pretty respectful and supportive of other codes”.
League officials copped a barrage of criticism for revealing the first week’s games while Australia played Argentina in their round-of-16 clash in Qatar on Sunday morning.
Commentators labelled the move “pathetic”, “petty”, “arrogant” and “lame”.
AFL fixture boss Travis Auld said the league had heard the feedback, but had always put it out in that timeslot in the week, leading up to announcing the full season’s matches.
“The reality is that for as long as I’ve been at the AFL and probably well before that, we’ve always released round 1 of the fixture to News Limited (Corp) on the Sunday – and that’s been organised a long time out,” Auld said.
“I think we’ve got a track record of being pretty respectful and supportive of other codes.
“So putting out nine games of footy on a Sunday in a newspaper, we felt it’s what we’ve always done, we felt that’s OK.”
Asked if he could see how people thought it was an arrogant move, Auld said: “I can’t speak for others”.
“If we’ve released one round of football in the newspaper and that’s got in the way of the game, then it is what it is,” he said.
Auld was in Adelaide on Friday to reveal the fixture for the inaugural Gather Round … a festival of footy, which will be held in South Australia in April.
That announcement coincided with day two of the Second Test between Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide Oval.
While some might think it again played into the broader narrative of the AFL wanting to take the attention away from other sports, Auld disagreed.
“I went to the cricket last night and it’s an unbelievable event,” he said.
“This city is so lucky to have a venue like this and clearly it’s pushing hard for sports content and it’s working.
“I’m a lover of sport, I was there and I think it’s wonderful and I think this just complements that.
“It talks more to what the city has to offer from a sporting point of view so I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive.”
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas defended the AFL’s timing of its Gather Round fixture announcement.
“If they released it last weekend, it would’ve clashed with the Adelaide 500, if they released it this weekend, they’d clash with the cricket, then they’d clash with Christmas, then they’d clash with the Fringe (Festival), then they’d clash with the Tour Down Under, then they’d clash with the Adelaide Festival, then they’d clash with Womad then we’ve got the Magic Round,” Malinaukas said with tongue in cheek.
“To be fair to them, whenever they announced it, it would’ve clashed with something here in Adelaide and I think that says about where we’re going.”
HENRY EYES ROUND 1 MAGPIES REUNION
- Glenn McFarlane
Ross Lyon will make his long-awaited return as St Kilda coach against Fremantle – the club that sacked him three years ago – in what looms as blockbuster-filled, crowd-friendly round 1 next season.
In an opening round that will see all Victorian teams play in their home state and the MCG host four games in as many days, Richmond and Carlton kick off the season on Thursday March 16 with St Kilda and Fremantle closing round 1 at Marvel Stadium on Sunday March 19.
The AFL opted against opening 2023 with a grand final rematch for logistical reasons, deeming it unfair for Geelong fans to have to travel up the highway on a Wednesday night.
GMHBA Stadium is still on a reduced capacity due to ongoing construction works.
Instead, the reigning premier will take on this year’s preliminary finalist and old rival Collingwood in a bumper clash at the MCG on Friday, March 17.
That could immediately pit former Magpie and new Cat Ollie Henry against his former side.
It will provide the MCG with the chance to host an anticipated 150,000 fans at the first two nights of the season, with four big Victorian clubs squaring off against each other.
“We are always aiming to get our season off to the best possible start, and with four big clubs, traditional rivalries, 150,000-plus fans at the MCG over the first two nights and with millions more watching around the country,” AFL broadcast and fixturing boss Travis Auld said.
“It gives the competition the best opportunity to kickstart the 2023 season.
“It’s been a big year and come round 1 the anticipation for the return of football will be palpable and bring not only Melbourne to life, but all the cities hosting matches in the opening rounds.”
The AFL will announce the first 15 rounds of the 2023 season later this week, as well as the rounds, match-ups and locations for the rest.
There will be no game in Perth in round 1 owing to an Ed Sheeran concert at Perth Stadium a few days before the season.
But both West Australian teams will play at home in round 2.
The Dockers and the Eagles will be on the road in week one to Marvel Stadium to take on the Lyon’s Saints and Alastair Clarkson’s North Melbourne respectively, which will be made all the more interesting given the return of the two veteran coaches.
This will be Lyon’s first game in the coaches’ box since his shock departure from Fremantle at the end of 2019, and his first match in charge of the Saints in more than 4200 days, since the club’s 2011 elimination final loss.
Brad Scott’s second stint as an AFL coach – at Essendon – will see him take on the Bombers’ fiercest rivals Hawthorn, made all the more challenging given the game will coincide with a 40-year premiership reunion for the Hawks’ 1983 champions.
New Giants coach Adam Kingsley will make his AFL coaching debut at home with GWS scheduled to take on Adelaide.
Ken Hinkley will have a tough start to the final year of his contract when Port Adelaide takes on the Brisbane Lions at Adelaide Oval. The Lions could unveil new recruits Josh Dunkley, Jack Gunston and Will Ashcroft in that clash, but the Power will at least be playing at home in what looms as a crucial season for them and their coach.
2021 grand finalists Melbourne and Western Bulldogs headline a big Saturday night of footy in week one, with both clubs eager to make up for frustrating finals exits in 2022.
Sydney’s quest for redemption after a grand final flogging at the hands of Geelong starts with Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
Auld said: “Recent history has shown the competition is closer than ever, and we look forward to Round 1 setting the scene for what shapes to be a thrilling and dramatic home-and-away season.”
Sheeran or Sherrins? AFL’s massive round 1 headache
Jon Ralph
The league’s Magic Round and an Ed Sheeran concert tour across Australia have caused fixturing headaches that will require the AFL to dodge Optus Stadium as a Round 1 venue next year.
English pop star Sheeran plays in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth across early March in a tour that requires venues to have at least eight days to replace enough turf to return them to an AFL-ready state.
The grounds believed they had that time under an AFL fixture on March 23 but approval for the round 5 Magic Round in Adelaide has changed those plans.
The season will now start a week earlier, on March 16, to allow the league to slot in 24 home-and-away weeks plus finals.
The Herald Sun can reveal Optus Stadium has told the AFL they will not be ready for a round 1 game given they will not have enough time to replace turf and bump out the Sheeran stage to ensure it was safe for AFL footballers.
Sheeran plays a one-off concert at Optus Stadium on Sunday 12 March, which means even a Sunday AFL clash in round 1 would see the venue coming up a day short of that eight-day requirement.
Melbourne’s MCG will replace some turf but given Sheeran plays at the ground on March 2 and 3 their grounds staff will have 13 days to get the ground into AFL shape.
The Herald Sun revealed last month the AFL will do away with last year’s season opener involving the previous year’s Grand Finalists and instead return to a Carlton-Richmond Thursday season opener at the MCG.
Clubs will be able to play a practice game against another club ahead of the season on the weekend of February 25-26, an AFL-approved practice match between March 2-5, and then the season will kick off across March 16-19.
The MCG expects three huge opening games – including a Thursday and Friday night game – and could even have a fourth game given the unavailability of Optus Stadium.
“It will be fine. We will have to replace a bit of turf with it but we have done that plenty of times. We will be right to go,” MCC boss Stuart Fox told the Herald Sun on Friday.
The league will have to schedule both West Coast and Fremantle away in round 1 and then both at home in round 2 before returning to a schedule where one plays at home and one interstate.
It would have been a perfect opportunity for the AFL to launch Fremantle’s season with a round 1 sellout at Optus Stadium given the hype about their flag hopes and Luke Jackson’s arrival.
Adelaide Oval will host Sheeran on Tuesday March 7, which means the venue will have more than a week to get ship-shape before Adelaide or Port Adelaide host a round 1 clash at the venue.
The Sheeran “in-the-round” production will have thousands of fans on the grounds but it is the vast stage down on the ground for multiple days that will require venues to replace turf.
In contrast to the bad old days of Telstra Stadium’s ‘Death Valley’, replaced turf can look and feel better than turf for players but needs some days to be bedded down and rolled.
Seven News reported on Thursday the league was also considering scheduling an Indigenous All Stars v World game in February that would highlight players from multicultural backgrounds.
Originally published as AFL Fixture 2023: League confirms adjustment to weighted rule that will affect Hawthorn and Adelaide next year
Free trade tracker: Every player linked with your club
Trade requests, the latest rumours and every player linked with your club. Stay across every big AFL trade story and see who could be on the move in our Trade Tracker.
AFL club rocked as coach collapses at training
Geelong’s final training session has been hit with ‘confronting scenes’ as a coach collapsed before being rushed to hospital.