By Peter Ryan
St Kilda forward Jack Higgins ensured the race for a finals spot was not finalised until the last home-and-away game of 2024 when he kicked the winning goal against Carlton in the last minute of that Sunday afternoon thriller.
But the Saints’ desperation to finish the season well left them not only with pick seven instead of pick six in the national draft but also disadvantaged in the 2025 fixture, which is weighted according to where teams finish on the ladder the previous season.
Jack Higgins kicked the winner with seconds to go against the Blues in the last round.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The win pushed St Kilda above Gold Coast by 0.3 of a percentage point and into 12th spot on the ladder, making them a middle-ranked team when the AFL decided which teams would each other twice in 2025.
It means St Kilda join Collingwood in copping tough draws as Carlton appear best-placed to finish high on the ladder in 2025 as the AFL released the fixture for 2025.
The Saints double up against Geelong, the Giants, Fremantle, the Western Bulldogs, Melbourne and Richmond and the Magpies play the Brisbane Lions, Hawthorn, Carlton, Fremantle, Melbourne and the Crows twice next season. If St Kilda had finished in the bottom six, they would have been more likely to play West Coast, North Melbourne or Adelaide twice and only play either the Cats or the Giants twice, rather than both teams.
Under the weighted fixture, the teams that finish in the bottom six play three of their 2024 cellar-dwelling compatriots twice in 2025 and are less likely to play top six teams twice.
Carlton, who were eliminated from the finals in week one, have double-up games against Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Collingwood, Essendon, West Coast and North Melbourne. The Blues play Richmond, the Eagles and the Kangaroos in the first six rounds.
Jack Ginnivan has become a walking headline drawing people to the football
Of course, this time last year Hawthorn were considered a relatively easy match-up, which proved wrong as they stormed into finals as the in-form team. Most clubs now say no game can be pencilled in as a win.
The Blues and the Magpies will be involved in a mid-season double-header at Marvel Stadium during Sir Doug Nicholls round when Carlton will host GWS and North Melbourne will be the home team against Collingwood in separately ticketed matches.
It will be the first double-header at the AFL-owned stadium. The Blues will play in the afternoon before vacating the stadium for Kangaroos and Magpie fans to arrive.
The winners
Hawthorn have leapt into prime time after their stunning performances in 2024, meaning Hawks fans will need to get used to watching their team under lights again.
The Hawks have seven Thursday or Friday night fixtures in the first 15 rounds as they drag the competition into the modern age with their look-at-me attitude and aggressive, fast style of football.
Their first three matches are under lights in prime time, and they return for four Thursday and Friday nights in five rounds between rounds 10 and 14.
Anyone who plays Richmond twice in 2025 is likely to be a winner as the Tigers rebuild their list with a bunch of high draft picks after losing premiership players Shai Bolton, Jack Graham, Liam Baker and Daniel Rioli in this year’s trade period.
The Cats will play Richmond twice but their other double opponents are tougherCredit: Fairfax
And one of the lucky recipients is last year’s preliminary finalists and perennial contenders Geelong, who play the Tigers in round 17 and 24, giving their finals chances a late-season boost. However, the Cats also play last year’s premiers, the Brisbane Lions, as well as the Giants, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, and Essendon twice – meaning they will still need to be excellent to make the eight. North Melbourne, Essendon, West Coast, Gold Coast and St Kilda are the other teams playing the Tigers twice.
The Bombers always attract a crowd and a story, and that’s why the AFL keeps putting them in prime time. They will have three Friday night games and four Thursday night matches as well as Anzac Day regularly putting them under the brightest spotlight.
Fremantle and West Coast received a boost when North Melbourne sold two home games to the state for $2.5 million, giving those clubs a chance to sleep at home for a month in the middle of the season. The Dockers also play an evening match against Adelaide on Anzac Day.
Carlton have a great draw if you like Thursday and Friday nights. Seven of their first 10 matches will be played on those days, though the Good Friday match against North Melbourne will begin at 3.20pm. And their start to the season shapes as relatively easy.
The losers
Melbourne’s ordinary 2024 season has cost them. Their only Friday night game in 2025 will be away against Geelong in round four, giving star midfielder Clayton Oliver another chance to check out Sleepy Hollow.
Their only other big fixtures are the annual events – Anzac Day eve against Richmond and King’s Birthday against Collingwood.
Opening round is a good concept for northern-based teams, but not so great for the Victorian teams drafted to play them. Collingwood will have to back up again next year alongside opening round debutants Hawthorn, Essendon and Geelong.
Carlton, who are not involved this season, were the only Victorian team who played in opening round last season to make finals. Melbourne, the Magpies and Richmond all missed.
The Demons’ year of redemption will be off Broadway for most of the year.Credit: The Age
It’s a long bow to say it affected finals, but the program of those playing in opening round is as about as normal as the one mapped out for Cox Plate runner Pride Of Jenni this season. The shortest break the Cats have between games from the opening round to Easter Monday is seven days, giving their new head of fitness a bit of thinking to do.
The Giants will play two matches at Engie Stadium between opening round and round four, but will not return to their home venue until round 10. The club’s only visit to the MCG will be against Melbourne in round one. The Western Bulldogs will play in Canberra, Ballarat and Darwin, keeping them out of Melbourne for close to a month from rounds seven to nine.
What the fixture means for fans
Thursday nights will be spent on the couch watching the games all season, so if you think your home is saturated with football already, it’s not great news. If you love the football, as many do, then it’s great to have free-to-air footy on Thursday nights.
However, if your team is playing regularly on Thursday nights and you prefer to go to games, life is tougher, particularly if you have children, a demanding job – or both.
Those with Foxtel or Kayo subscriptions are winners because coverage of Saturday games will be exclusive to subscribers nationally for the first eight rounds. Matches will be shown on delay on Channel Seven, which is the likely explanation for the Showdown being played in round nine.
In Victoria, “Super Saturdays” are exclusive to Foxtel for every round of the home-and-away season. Seven will broadcast delayed telecasts. The holdbacks, as they are called, will be two hours after the match begins or 8.40pm local time, depending on which is earliest.
The response from supporters will be interesting early, as Essendon, Collingwood, St Kilda, Geelong, the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Hawthorn all play Saturday night games, a Channel Seven timeslot in previous years, in the first month. The Western Bulldogs play on Saturday night in four of the first 10 rounds but have two Friday nights and a Sunday night match. Channel Seven now broadcasts Thursday and Friday nights free-to-air, and the number of free-to-air games remains the same as 2024.
Double-ups and road trips
Apart from Collingwood, St Kilda and Carlton’s double-ups covered earlier, the 2024 premiers play Geelong, the Giants, the Western Bulldogs, Sydney, Hawthorn and Collingwood twice, meaning they have not been missed as they attempt to go back-to-back after winning the flag from outside the top four last season.
North Melbourne will be on the road six times between rounds 13 (when they play a home game against West Coast in Bunbury) and the end of the season. The young Roos will need to have all their reserves to remain competitive over that period.
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