By Peter Ryan and Jon Pierik
The AFL is banking on Carlton and Collingwood being primetime darlings, while Dreamtime at the ’G will be a blockbuster Friday night clash for the first time, as the AFL released the full 2025 fixture on Thursday.
While the Friday-night clash is one of few marquee fixtures for the rebuilding Tigers, the Blues have emerged as the primetime kings, appearing on either a Thursday or Friday in seven of their opening 10 rounds. The Blues do not feature in the opening round.
Patrick Cripps celebrates a goal against the Pies.Credit: AFL Photos
The Blues open their campaign with the traditional clash against Richmond on a Thursday night in round one, have Hawthorn on a Thursday in round two, the Western Bulldogs on a Friday in round three, and the Magpies on a Thursday night in round four. They return for the Good Friday clash against North Melbourne in round six, and have St Kilda on a Friday night in round nine, before travelling to Sydney to face the Swans the following Friday.
Despite failing to make the finals last season, the AFL is also banking on the Magpies to be a headline act, for they are the standalone Sunday clash against Greater Western Sydney in opening round, and have Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs in primetime spots before their round three bye.
They are then a feature of a Thursday or Friday night for the ensuing four rounds, in what shapes as a potentially treacherous slate of games against premiership contenders that could define their season. The Magpies’ hopes of repeating their premiership success of 2023 were all but in tatters last season after they lost their opening three games.
Josh Bowler, the AFL’s head of broadcast and scheduling, told this masthead on Thursday he was happy with the split of teams featuring on a Thursday or Friday night.
Asked he was banking on the Magpies and Blues having a strong start to the season, Bowler said: “Yes, but with the additional [games on] Thursdays, if you look at the overall mix of who is playing in five, six or seven of those, it is mostly the Victorian and a number of interstate teams who finished top eight to 11th-ish. It is spread pretty broadly. It has got more interstate v interstate clashes on Thursday, Friday nights.”
Bowler said there were teams who wished they had more prime-time action, but he insisted there was no poor time-slot, particularly with the earlier 1.20pm start time on Saturdays meaning there was less overlap of games.
“There is no bad slot in the fixture. If you are on a Saturday or Sunday, it’s a great opportunity to go and watch your game on the weekend. Performance will ultimately mean you are playing in more Thursday and Friday night slots. On-field success has a big impact,” Bowler said.
“Seven have a free-to-air slot on a Sunday. Super Saturday is going to be bigger than ever, so there are not too many bad slots in the fixture.”
Richmond’s war dance before Dreamtime at the ’G match in 2022.Credit: Getty Images
Essendon will host Richmond in round 11 at the MCG on Friday, May 23 in the second week of Sir Doug Nicholls round, which highlights the significant contribution Indigenous Australians have made to the game.
The brainchild of Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Keven Sheedy – a four-time premiership coach at Essendon and a three-time premiership winning player at Richmond – has attracted more than 80,000 fans on seven occasions but has not reached that mark since COVID-19, having been played on Saturday nights for its duration.
In other highlights:
- Hawthorn, rarely seen in primetime over the past two seasons, begin the new campaign with three straight Friday night games, against Sydney, Essendon and Carlton.
- Fox Footy’s first full slate of exclusively live Super Saturday games in round one includes a grand final rematch between Sydney and the Brisbane Lions at the SCG, and a night clash between Collingwood and Port Adelaide. Fox Footy’s exclusively live Saturday games extend until round 15, before the floating fixture – with day and times to still be determined – begins.
- Gather Round opens with Adelaide hosting Geelong at Adelaide Oval. A blockbuster Collingwood and Sydney clash awaits on the Friday night, also at Adelaide Oval.
- New Giant Jake Stringer will have to wait until round 19 before he faces former club Essendon, while Cats recruit Bailey Smith faces his former club the Bulldogs in round 11 on a Thursday night.
- Easter Sunday’s two games include a 7.20pm clash between the Bulldogs and St Kilda at Marvel Stadium. The Saints have to wait until the Friday of round eight, when hosting Fremantle at Marvel Stadium, before appearing on a Thursday or Friday night.
- The home-and-away season climaxes in round 24 with at least three likely blockbusters, for Brisbane host Hawthorn, while the MCG hosts Melbourne v Collingwood and Carlton v Essendon.
- As previously reported, there will be expanded slate of 23 Thursday night games.
- The clubs who will take part in opening round have early season byes. The Giants and Suns have the week off in round two, the Lions, Magpies, Cats and Swans in round three, and the Bombers and Hawks in round four.
The Tigers and Bombers are delighted the Dreamtime clash will have a new timeslot. Essendon chief executive Craig Vozzo said the build-up to the game would be as big as ever, having become one of the season’s most highly anticipated matches since it was first played in 2005.
“We are excited to host Dreamtime at the ’G for the first time on a Friday night in 2025. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the club to work alongside the Long Walk, Richmond and the AFL to further elevate how we celebrate this iconic game,” Vozzo said.
“Friday night football attracts a big broadcast audience, and we look forward to the new iteration of the Long Walk on a Friday afternoon that will captivate the Melbourne CBD, engage the football community throughout Melbourne and fans across the country.”
The Long Walk from Federation Square honours Essendon great Michael Long’s walk to Canberra in 2004 to highlight the plight of Indigenous people. The clubs expect the new timeslot will enable more school students to participate in pre-match celebrations, including the Long Walk.
The match will be broadcast live on Seven, with Dreamtime at the ’G one of the marquee games to remain on free-to-air television for the length of the broadcast agreement, which runs until the end of 2031.
Richmond chief executive Shane Dunne said the Tigers had embraced the decision to move the game to the blockbuster Friday night timeslot.
“Moving Dreamtime at the ’G to a Friday night opens the audience and gives us a chance to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their contribution to the game on an even greater level,” Dunne said.
“As a club, we are incredibly proud of what this game has become, and it’s important that we continue to strive to enhance it. We feel that giving this premier occasion on the football calendar pride of place on a Friday night in Sir Doug Nicholls round certainly achieves that.”
Essendon have won eight of the 21 Dreamtime at the ’G matches after their two-goal victory in a tight contest last season when defender Jordan Ridley was best on ground in his first game for the season.
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