Western Bulldogs, Sydney Swans left with baffling AFL week 1 finals

Scheduling the opening round of the footy finals should be relatively simple, yet somehow AFL HQ managed to get it very wrong.

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The AFL surely hasn’t won any fresh admirers from some of the clubs involved in this year’s finals series.

Following a thrilling end to the AFL regular season on Sunday, culminating in Carlton losing to St Kilda and still grabbing the eighth and final spot ahead of Fremantle, the fixtures for the opening week of the finals were confirmed on Monday morning.

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It should be a relatively simple affair, rewarding the teams that finished highest on the ladder following 24 gruelling rounds of footy.

Ideally it would also avoid any unnecessary clashes.

Sadly in week one, the AFL failed both of those requirements.

The Western Bulldogs, who finished sixth, are “hosting” seventh-ranked Hawthorn at the MCG at 7:40pm AEST on Friday night, September 6.

Seems straightforward enough until you learn the Dogs’ AFLW team is also playing a home game against Port Adelaide on the same night, starting at 5:05pm at Whitten Oval in Footscray, around 14km away from the MCG.

The Bulldogs’ request fell on deaf ears. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

AFL finals week 1

Thursday September 5, 7.40pm (AEST), Adelaide Oval

Second qualifying final (2nd v 3rd): Port Adelaide v Geelong

Friday September 6, 7.40pm, MCG

Second elimination final (6th v 7th): Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn

Saturday September 7, 3.20pm, SCG

First qualifying final (1st vs 4th): Sydney Swans v GWS Giants

Saturday September 7, 7.30pm, Gabba

First elimination final (5th vs 8th): Brisbane Lions v Carlton

Good luck making that commute through the city on a Friday night if you had any dreams of watching both matches and spare a thought for the Dogs’ football department members that are required to attend both.

Topping it off, the women’s team will officially unveil the $78 million redevelopment of Whitten Oval on that Friday night.

The Swans and Giants face a much shorter recovery time than the other top-four teams. (Photo by Phil Hillyard)

Not surprisingly, the club lobbied hard for another timeslot to avoid the clash, but that was ignored, leaving them “disappointed” and “not too happy with the AFL”, according to Channel 9 reporter Tom Morris.

Instead, the AFL ploughed ahead and awarded the prized Friday night timeslot to the only all-Victorian match-up of week one.

Yes, we understand money is the driving force behind these decisions and perhaps having two Victorian clubs on Friday night prime time is the best money spinner for the AFL.

The AFL virtually acknowledged as much in its statement announcing the draw.

“The Week One fixture seeks to maximise attendance and audience, while also balancing equitable days break between games for clubs as a result of aligning the two sides of the draw,” it read.

But shouldn’t the teams that finish top of the ladder and have given themselves the best shot, supposedly, of winning the premiership get preferential treatment?

That particularly applies to the Sydney Swans and we’ll get to them shortly.

The crowd for captain Deanna Berry and the Dogs’ AFLW team will be impacted by the men’s draw. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Before that, the decision regarding the Dogs didn’t go unnoticed by a number of footy fans on social media.

“So disappointing & disrespectful to the AFLW competition,” was one comment.

Some fans also replied to a Fox Footy tweet stating AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon would be on AFL360 on Monday night.

“Please ask him to explain how the AFLW is expected to thrive when a club has a men’s team final pitted against the first home game for the women’s team, at its renovated ground at that!” wrote one angry fan.

“Yep ask him why he didn’t take the opportunity to put an all Sydney final in prime time & why the dogs final is on the same night as the women’s 1st home game,” added another.

Which brings us to the Swans.

After finishing top of the ladder for the first time since 2016 with a 17-6 record, the Sydneysiders would have reasonably expected a favourable draw through the finals.

The Dogs and Hawks will fill the prime Friday night slot in week one. Photo: Michael Klein

Instead of opening their September campaign with a Thursday or Friday night fixture at the SCG, however, John Longmire’s men will take on GWS at 3:20pm on Saturday afternoon.

With second-placed Port Adelaide hosting third-ranked Geelong on the Thursday night, the Swans — and Giants for that matter — are facing a much shorter turnaround whether they win and progress to a preliminary final or lose and need to front up again the following week.

The first round is completed by the fifth-ranked Brisbane Lions’ home clash with the Blues at 7:30pm on Saturday night.

News.com.au understands the Swans are far from thrilled about the scheduling and a number of fans expressed their surprise or outrage at the treatment of the minor premiers.

“How does the Minor Premiers not get first preference?” asked Matt Hope.

“It’s still the VFL,” replied another X user.

The Swans have been the standout team throughout the 2024 regular season. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

“Qualifying finals must be the first 2 games. The 2 losing top 4 sides deserve slightly longer recovery time. Enough with the VFL bias crap,” wrote Port fan Chad Leverington.

Another wrote: “Disgraceful to the minor premier, the media won’t make a big deal coz it’s Sydney but there would be outrage if it was a big Vic club. Apparently 2nd place gets preferential treatment these days.”

Another commented simply: “The one Melbourne final was always, always going to get the Friday night prime time slot.”

There are clearly mixed messages coming out of AFL HQ when it comes to promoting the women’s competition and trying to offer a level playing field to the men’s top performing or interstate teams.

Let’s see how AFL House manages its schedule for week two.

Originally published as Western Bulldogs, Sydney Swans left with baffling AFL week 1 finals