AFL fixture 2024: Rounds 16-23 revealed, Bombers land prime time slots

Essendon’s fast start to 2024 has rewarded them with a prime fixture to close out the season, as the AFL hopes the Bombers avoid another late season fade out. FULL FIXTURE REVEAL.

AFL fixture rounds 16-23 revealed.

The AFL has put its trust in Essendon to avert another disastrous fade-out in the second half of the season as it handed the Dons three Friday night blockbusters in its new fixture release.

The AFL locked in times and dates for rounds 16-23 on Tuesday to hand fans fixture certainty, while still keeping its floating round 24 fixture to preserve drama for the last home-and-away round of the season.

Essendon has been handed three Friday night games along with Collingwood, as the two powerhouse Victorian sides meet on the Friday night of round 17.

As this masthead revealed on Monday, the league will schedule the Brisbane-Melbourne game on the Friday night of round 16 and the Geelong-Essendon Country game on the Saturday night.

Melbourne and Sydney also have two Friday night games from the eight Friday night slots.

The Friday night clashes are Brisbane-Melbourne (round 16), Collingwood-Essendon (round 17), Collingwood-Geelong (round 18), Essendon-Adelaide (round 19), Carlton-Port Adelaide (round 20), Western Bulldogs-Melbourne and West Coast-Gold Coast (a round 21 double-header), Sydney-Collingwood (round 22), and Essendon-Sydney (round 23).

Melbourne and Sydney both have two Friday night games for the round 16-23 fixture.

Essendon is one of footy’s hottest teams and with games against North Melbourne and Richmond coming up should be in a position to surge into a top four position in the second half of the season.

But Essendon finished with a 3-7 run last year to miss finals and lost by 41 and 70 points in its two Friday night clashes in that ten-week patch.

But the AFL clearly believes they are made of sterner stuff this season.

The AFL has prioritised Saturday at 4.35pm as a marquee timeslot given huge Fox Footy audiences and great attendances in recent weeks.

The 4.35pm Saturday games are Gold Coast-Collingwood, Geelong-Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs-Carlton, Hawthorn-Collingwood, St Kilda-Essendon, Geelong-Adelaide, Fremantle-Geelong and Collingwood-Brisbane.

Richmond has not been completely banished from prime time with three free to air games on Channel 7 despite a miserable start to the season.

The Bombers will play a key role in the second half of the season. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

There will be no Thursday night games in the second half of the season, with the fixture reverting to a Friday night game, five Saturday games and three Sunday games except for the Friday night double header in round 21.

AFL fixturing boss Josh Bowler said the league had unashamedly rewarded clubs with hot form and attractive game styles in the eight-week fixture just released.

““ It has been a thrilling start to the 2024 season, great footy, big games, big events, setting us up for one of the

great seasons on record,” Bowler said.

“Fans have turned up in record numbers and we are set up for an electrifying second half of the season. We have big competitive match ups in the marquee slots, including a string of blockbuster Friday night games

heading into finals.

“Although there are no further Thursday night matches this season, as we transition to new broadcast

arrangements in 2025, we will look to continue to build on the growth and success we saw this season having already delivered 14 in a row.”

DONS IN PRIME-TIME, THURSDAY NIGHTS DUMPED

The AFL is set to hand Brisbane another prime time clash with Melbourne in round 16 after fixturing guidelines prevented the league from rewarding Essendon’s hot start to the season.

The league will on Tuesday afternoon release its round 16-23 fixture, which features no Thursday night clashes and multiple 4.30pm Saturday blockbusters.

Essendon, Collingwood and Carlton will all be rewarded for playing exciting, up-tempo football as part of that fixturing release, which locks in times and dates into existing fixtures between clubs.

Essendon and Collingwood will both be handed three Friday night encounters across the eight newly-released rounds, including the Collingwood-Essendon round 17 clash.

Melbourne and Sydney and will also feature in two Friday night clashes given their strong form in the first ten rounds.

The first Friday night clash of that new fixture release could have been Brisbane-Melbourne at the Gabba or Geelong-Essendon at the MCG.

Jye Caldwell and the Bombers are set for more big-stage games. Picture: Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

Geelong-Essendon shapes as the more commercially attractive game, but the Cats play on the Friday night of round 15 and Essendon plays on the Sunday.

The AFL could have handed Essendon a five-day break under rules which allow clubs to have three five-day breaks across a given season.

But as part of those new guidelines, a club playing off a five-day break can only play a team with a maximum six-day break, and Geelong has seven days.

So the league is set to hand Brisbane that Friday night clash in a reprise of the round 5 Thursday night clash where Brisbane rebounded from a horror start to the season to win by 22 points.

The Geelong-Essendon game of round 16 will be a Saturday night contest broadcast on Channel 7 and Fox Footy.

Richmond’s poor start to the season means its poor commercial fixture is likely to continue with few games in marquee timeslots.

Toby Nankervis and the Tigers are set for less marquee slots in the back end of the year. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.

The league will revert to its traditional Friday-Sunday structure across those eight rounds with a Friday night game, five Saturday games and three Sunday games.

It means the Saturday twilight clash is the only Foxtel game that doesn’t cross over with other coverage.

It makes the game a ratings bonanza, and with Carlton making that slot an attendance winner in recent weeks the league will try to find more games to fit into that Saturday late afternoon slot.

The league believes by late in the season with some teams out of finals contention it is more difficult to find multiple marquee games so finishes its Thursday night trial.

Next year under the new broadcast deal there will be 15 Thursday night games to start the season.

From next season Foxtel and Kayo will exclusively broadcast an exclusive slate of Super Saturday games across the first eight rounds of the season, except if Anzac Day, Anzac Day Eve or Dreamtime at the ‘G fall on Saturdays.

Originally published as AFL fixture 2024: Rounds 16-23 revealed, Bombers land prime time slots