AFL finals 2022: Follow all the latest September footy news

Thursday night matches will become a regular feature once the new AFL TV deal kicks in, but there’s a big stumbling block to changing the schedule before 2025.

Tom Hawkins of the Cats.

The AFL is expected to retain its 7.50pm Friday start times for the next two years and play only 10 Thursday night games before its new seven-year $4.5 billion TV deal kicks in for the 2025 season.

The league currently doesn’t have the capacity to play more than 10 Thursday night games and would need approval from the players for more five-day breaks in the upcoming collective bargaining deal.

The Herald Sun reported last week that deal will be brokered with the AFL keen to have a combined CBA which represented the interests of both AFL and AFLW players.

But even if the new CBA grants clubs the right to two five-day breaks it is understood the league will retain the current number of Thursdays until the 2025 season.

This year the league scheduled five Thursday night games in the first five rounds of the season and then five around the mid-season breaks when clubs can play a Thursday night game coming off their bye, plus a Thursday night final.

The AFL plans to roll with the current structure for the next two years and then under the seven-year deal from 2025 will have 15 Thursday nights to start each season.

Watch every match prior to the AFL grand final Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Friday night games are expected to start at 7.50pm again next season. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said on Tuesday there was “provision” for the league to bring forward Friday start times to 7.20pm as early as next year.

But the Herald Sun understands Channel 7 strongly believes it can maximise its Friday night ratings by screening half an hour of news at 6pm followed by Better Homes and Gardens at 6.30pm then a 7.30pm preview for a 7.50pm game.

From 2025 onwards viewers of non-Victorian teams will have an exclusive Fox Footy Super Saturday for the first eight rounds, when a total of 24 games featuring non-Victorian teams will be live on Fox Footy and on two-hour delay on Seven.

Those non-Victorian fans then will be able to watch their team live on Seven or Seven+ from rounds 9-16 regardless of whether the host broadcaster is Seven or Fox Footy.

But in Victoria every game on Saturday apart from a handful of marquee matches from rounds 1-15 in 2025-2031 will be on Fox Footy, so Victorian viewers will need Kayo or Fox Footy to watch Saturday football until the last eight rounds of the season.

In the last eight rounds of the home-and-away season Seven will again broadcast Saturday night matches as well as Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

AFL reveals prelim final timeslots

Geelong has been handed a Friday night preliminary final which could offer an eight-day break leading into a grand final as the league released next week’s finals fixture on Tuesday.

The Cats have been handed a Friday night prelim at 7.50pm at the MCG against the winner of this week’s Melbourne v Brisbane semi-final.

Sydney will host a twilight Saturday afternoon prelim at 4.45pm at the SCG against the winner of Collingwood v Fremantle.

The timing of that clash would allow the Pies or Fremantle to get back to their home state for a full seven day’s rest if they were able to upset the Swans.

Under the preliminary final fixture every team will be handed a full seven-day break for all finals games, but the Friday night preliminary finalist will have an extra day to recover.

Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron will be huge weapons in the preliminary final. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The twilight preliminary final is not unprecedented, with the Dogs beating GWS in an extraordinary twilight prelim in 2016 and then flying home to sleep in their own beds.

Twilight preliminary finals have proved ratings winners.

“We’ve seen amazing contests throughout week one of the finals series, and I have no doubt the upcoming semi and preliminary finals will be the same impressive standard of football,” AFL fixturing boss Travis Auld said.

“Millions of Australians will be watching the preliminary finals with bated breath – whether it be in the stadiums or on TV – to see who earns the coveted honour of playing in the 2022 Toyota AFL grand final.”