The AFL has gone chips-in on Carlton again despite sorry 2025 season, putting blowtorch on the fixture
The AFL gambled big on Carlton in prime time slots this year and lost big. Now, they’ve gone back for more — and there’s only one person who will be more nervous than Michael Voss.
The AFL has plonked its fixture chips on Carlton again for 2026.
In the race for prime time exposure which delights sponsors and fills the coffers, Hawthorn, Geelong and Adelaide were the big winners with eight Thursday and Friday night games each.
But if there is a man more nervous than Carlton coach Michael Voss about the Blues’ prospects for next season after three senior players walked out on the club in the trade period, it’s fixture guru Josh Bowler.
More than anything, the league was next year determined to provide a better spread of matches in the key slots than the offering which often underwhelmed this year.
EARLY PREDICTED LADDER — WHERE EVERY CLUB WILL SIT AFTER SIX ROUNDS
And after ditching Essendon and snubbing Brisbane to a large degree, the league placed its biggest bet of the fixture when it backed-in a new-look Carlton to fire as Voss desperately fights for a contract extension beyond next season.
The Blues have five Thursday night and Friday games across their first six appearances and two more Friday night matches by the time they take on the Cats in round 12.
So there will be nowhere to hide for Voss’s men as Harry McKay prepares to step into the spotlight without Charlie Curnow, Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni.
Can Voss adjust the game plan to generate more run and outside sizzle? We’ll all know early on because we’ll all be watching. You won’t be able to miss Carlton early in the 2026 fixture.
The league will say its hands were tied to some degree as the Curnow rematch in Opening Round will be must-watch, the Tigers in round one is an annual lock, there’s Good Friday and a Collingwood blockbuster in round six.
And when it comes to scheduling the Lions on a Friday night the AFL is mindful it is probably not ideal to go head-to-head with NRL powerhouse Brisbane Broncos in the marquee timeslot.
But if the Blues go belly-up again this year it’s the league who will pay the price. The Blues were poor this year, played a stodgy contested brand, and the biggest talking point throughout the year other than the game plan was who would leave?
In the end, it was three of their biggest names, and next year the same questions will be asked of Sam Walsh.
Bowler acknowledged on Thursday it was a strange look to gift the Blues more prime time slots (seven) than the Lions (three) off the back of back-to-back flags for Brisbane over the first 15 rounds.
But with a floating fixture, the it is certain the ledger will be corrected.
“There is always one club (Brisbane) who you would probably sit there and say you would like to get a few more games in,” Bowler said.
“They (Lions) have a pretty strong run home, so you would expect to see more of Brisbane in the back part of the fixture.”
The league has been here before with Carlton and its mammoth fan base.
Ahead of the 2018 season, the league rolled the dice on a “vulnerable” Blues’ outfit with five prime time games (the fourth-most) only for the club to finish third-last with two wins.
The whole season was one big bloodbath. It was a mistake.
So here we go again with a club desperate to play with more polish and a reconstructed forward line around centrepiece McKay.
The double-ups on Friday nights were another interesting move which league hedging its bets in the hope at least one of the double-up games will be a humdinger.
But it is Geelong which will walk into the fire once more after being handed perhaps the toughest draw for 2026.
Chris Scott’s men have double-up games against Fremantle, Adelaide, Collingwood, Gold Coast, Brisbane Lions and North Melbourne next year, including four of this year’s top-six teams, twice.
There’s also seven interstate trips to test this year’s grand finalist.
But 10 games at home will ensure a team which has been at the top for the best part of two decades will remain there.
HORROR FIXTURE START MAY MAKE-OR-BREAK BEVO’S BULLDOGS IN 2026
Western Bulldogs have been hit with a nightmare start to the season which could help make-or-break the club’s premiership prospects within the first month of 2026.
Luke Beveridge’s men were dealt a “crunch month” to kick off the new season with tough assignments against reigning premier Brisbane (Gabba), arch rival GWS Giants (Marvel Stadium) and minor premier Adelaide (Adelaide Oval) on a Friday night over the first three rounds.
The Dogs then have the bye in round three and take on Essendon on Easter Sunday night in round four, followed by Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval in Gather Round, Geelong in Geelong in round six, Sydney Swans on a Thursday night and Fremantle on a Friday night in rounds seven and eight.
It pales in comparison to the Brisbane Lions’ soft start which was confirmed when the AFL announced its 2026 AFL fixture on Thursday.
Remarkably, the team which is gunning for a third-straight premiership this year will only play two finalists from last year’s eight across the first nine rounds.
It is an easy early ride for the Lions who will only face-off against Collingwood and Adelaide from last year’s eight before the grand final replay against Geelong in round 10, at the Gabba.
It will put the Lions in a strong position to contend again with a brilliant list which has been topped-up by gun talls Sam Draper (Essendon) and Oscar Allen (West Coast).
In contrast, it is an enormous early hurdle for the Dogs who will have the chance to make a powerful statement against some of the top weights to bolster their premiership credentials or come up short against the best again, early on.
This year, the Dogs were unable to knock over teams above them on the ladder, other than the Giants, twice.
But the Dogs will have the opportunity to quash some of those continued concerns and turn a new leaf in 2026 with all eyes on the club’s ability to implement an improved defensive system and set up for next year despite missing out on gun Saints’ defender Callum Wilkie in the trade period.
In a fixture which on Thursday handed prime time kings Hawthorn, Geelong and Adelaide eight Thursday and Friday night slots over the first 15 rounds, the Dogs’ opening block will ensure the club remains under one of the biggest spotlights early.
The Dogs and under-pressure Carlton were also handed seven Thursday and Friday night games, while Essendon was pulled off Broadway next year with only two, and West Coast none.
Blues’ coach Michael Voss will be one of the most under-pressure figures in the game next season and will confront former spearhead Charlie Curnow in the most anticipated clash of Opening Round against the Swans at the SCG.
And it will be an intriguing first month as the Blues will be expected to topple Richmond in the Thursday night clash in round one (followed by the bye in round two), as well as winnable clashes against Melbourne and North Melbourne on Good Friday.
The pressure will mount on Voss in his contract year if Carlton cannot make a strong start to the season with a new-look outfit.
This year’s Thursday night games were often one-sided and failed to hit the mark, but the league will hope next year’s Thursday night games are more competitive with some strong contests to begin the year.
They include Hawthorn versus Sydney in round two, Geelong versus Adelaide in round three and Brisbane versus Collingwood round four.
Scheduling stronger games on Thursday nights was clearly a strong focus for the league in 2026 after some regular Thursday night flops in 2025.
Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury is on track to equal Brent Harvey’s all-time games record on Anzac Day at the MCG in round seven, needing seven more games to reach Harvey’s 432-game mark.
The Magpies play Hawthorn on Thursday night the following week in what will be a momentous fortnight for the club honouring the Diggers as well as celebrating arguably its greatest-ever player, Pendlebury, in the stand-alone Thursday night blockbuster.
Essendon was largely demoted from the main stage for next season after another disappointing and injury-riddled season in 2025.
But the Bombers will be in the spotlight in round one when superstar Zach Merrett will confront the Hawks on a blockbuster Friday night clash after his failed trade request.
Melbourne will face Christian Petracca’s Gold Coast at the MCG in round four on Easter Sunday, and Clayton Oliver’s GWS Giants in Alice Springs on a Sunday in round 12.
North Melbourne return to Bunbury.
The AFL has again decided to schedule clubs’ mid-season byes in clusters between rounds 12 and 16.
Only the first 15 rounds have been locked in with dates and times, meaning the remaining rounds will be determined later in the year as per the regular floating fixture arrangement.
AFL fixture boss Josh Bowler said the fixture, which includes five Friday night double-up games, would meet fans, broadcasters and clubs’ needs in 2026.
“This fixture aims to build momentum throughout the year and gives fans consistency to help strengthen rituals and traditions at games with family and friends, as well as building on the success of Sunday nights,” Bowler said.
“Footy continues to grow strongly in Queensland and New South Wales, with all four clubs in those states achieving record membership numbers and community participation continuing to rise.
“Both Queensland and New South Wales had record participation numbers this year with Queensland now sitting second in the country for AFL participation trailing only Victoria.
“Friday night double-headers feature five times across the first half of the season which will maximise attendance and kickstart the weekend of footy.
“We are excited to have a slate of marquee Thursday and Friday night matches with a great mix of clubs involved.
“Taking on fan feedback, for the first time a stand-alone Opening Round match will be played at the MCG on the Sunday night of Labour Day long weekend in Melbourne – which will kick start the Premiership Season in Victoria, ahead of the traditional Thursday night Tigers versus Blues match up four nights later.
“Round one also features several blockbuster match-ups as all 18 clubs start their quest for the 2026 Toyota Premiership.
“We have worked closely with and thank all our clubs and industry stakeholders, including venues and broadcast partners, Seven, Foxtel and Kayo, as well as being assisted by our scheduling software provider Fastbreak AI, who were involved in building the fixture.”
Originally published as The AFL has gone chips-in on Carlton again despite sorry 2025 season, putting blowtorch on the fixture
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