Full AFLW 2025 season fixture revealed, double-headers shunned

It’s finally arrived! See the full AFLW draw here — and there’s been a surprise decision on the number of games scheduled at major stadiums before men’s matches.

An AFL Women’s fixture devoid of top-tier stadiums and double-headers has left players “disappointed” ahead of the landmark 10th season of the competition.

The league revealed its long-awaited fixture on Friday, with the 12-round fixture over 12 weeks to kick off on Thursday August 14.

Players had strongly pushed for double-headers – particularly in the two-week overlap period with the men’s season proper – in a bid to capitalise on greater audiences as they bid to grow the game with key broadcast and attendance measures in direct correlation to more games in coming season.

But interim AFL Players’ Association boss Ben Smith said on Friday that there was a sense of missed opportunity in the fixture release and called for “greater ambition” from headquarters.

“We are excited about the upcoming AFLW season in what is the 10th season of the competition,” Smith said on Friday afternoon.

“The players have grown so much over the competition’s journey on and off the field. We will see individuals playing for the first time who were 10 years old when the competition began, and they will be key drivers in the next iteration of AFLW.

“It is a season to celebrate growth and that’s why the AFLPA are disappointed with some elements of the 2025 fixture.

“We acknowledge the positive shift to traditional timeslots, as well as the addition of multiple Thursday night matches.

“But we provided the AFL with a submission, based on player feedback, on a number of fixture considerations, which included more matches at Category One venues and the opportunity to play some double-headers during the crossover period between the women’s and men’s competitions.

“Unfortunately, neither of these will be delivered again this season.

“Now is the time for greater ambition in the game and we will continue to work with the industry to evolve these opportunities.”

The AFL on Friday backed away from a move to include more double-headers in the AFLW fixture, with the competition again confined to the smaller suburban venues in its 10th season.

There was no alignment between the long-anticipated AFLW season draw released Friday and the final two rounds of the men’s fixture despite a mooted “one-club, two-team approach” to scheduling.

After the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide met in a historic clash at the MCG last year ahead of the Bulldogs’ men’s elimination final, no games were slated at the competition’s biggest venues.

Geelong will play six games at GMHBA Stadium and Gold Coast will host four at People First Stadium, but were not matched to Cats or Suns men’s games during the two-week overlap period between the home and away seasons.

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AFLW general manager Emma Moore said earlier this month that the competition wanted to look at ways to engage more fans on the men’s side of the game.

“One of the things we’re focusing on is optimising what we can do in terms of the crossover of the women’s and men’s competition and clearly double-headers are part of that conversation and analysis we’re doing,” Moore said.

Rather than open the season, the Brisbane vs. Hawthorn grudge match will be played on a Sunday at Brighton Homes Arena at the end of round 1. Picture: Michael Klein

“It’s pretty exciting to think we can really generate that passion out of our fanbase that we have today, and make sure that attention is on the women’s games as well.”

But those plans did not unfold, with no games scheduled at Marvel Stadium, the SCG, Adelaide Oval, Optus Stadium or the Gabba.

It is understood the majority of clubs provided feedback to the AFL in recent months that double-headers would place too much of a strain on their resources.

The league instead suggested the “one-club, two-team” mantra related to a fixture provision to avoid clashes between men’s and women’s teams from the same club.

Adelaide will defend its Showdown title against Port Adelaide in a Friday night blockbuster at Norwood Oval in round 11. Picture: Sarah Reed / Getty Images

“To allow for this, the AFL will make provisions for slight time changes if the match windows for a club are within one hour of overlapping, giving fans the opportunity to catch both teams in action,” a statement read.

In the most conventional fixture in AFLW history in terms of timeslots, no games were scheduled outside of Thursday to Sunday or before 12.35pm local time.

AFL strategy and scheduling boss Josh Bowler said the competition would also use the “six-six-six” model for the first time this season for a more equal array of match-ups.

“To manage over the expansion period, the previous model split the ladder into the bottom nine and top nine, but is now divided into three groups of six, and maximises the number of match ups within each group across the season,” Bowler said.

Originally published as Full AFLW 2025 season fixture revealed, double-headers shunned