For the first time, the AFL season will be played over 24 rounds, and in one of those rounds, all 18 teams will meet in one city to play their matches.
Next season shapes as a season like no other. What are the talking points for fans and players?
The Magpies and Blues will meet twice again in 2023.Credit:Getty Images
What the fixture means for fans
The rolling fixture has been ditched, with certainty across the first 15 rounds, and an extra round of matches courtesy of the “Gather Round” in Adelaide. That makes next year’s fixture one for the fans.
Diehard supporters, who need to take time off work to travel interstate to watch their side play, can start lodging their annual leave requests now after more than 60 per cent of next year’s fixture was published on Saturday.
Thursday night games are back in force, with five in the first five rounds, and again through the bye weeks to make sure rounds 13 to 15 feel fuller.
Carlton fans are the biggest winners, with the Blues securing seven primetime Thursday and Friday night slots in the first 15 rounds, including the Good Friday match-up with North Melbourne, as well as a Sunday 3.20pm match against rivals Collingwood.
Reigning premiers Geelong, with six Thursday or Friday night matches in the first 15 rounds, will again play nine games at GMHBA this season, plus the traditional Easter Monday blockbuster against Hawthorn. Essendon fans will have to travel to Geelong in round 18 for just the second time since 1993, having played the Cats there in 2021.
Brisbane have also been given six games in the Thursday and Friday night slots up to round 15.
Hawthorn supporters without Foxtel aren’t going to see much of their side on TV in the first 15 rounds, however, with just three matches slated for Seven – none between rounds six and 15. The same can be said for the Roos, who also have just three free-to-air games scheduled in the opening 15 rounds.
The most interesting new timeslot is Carlton and Essendon’s 7.15pm game on the Sunday before King’s Birthday Monday.
The Blues and Bombers meet in a unique Sunday 7.15pm time slot on King’s Birthday eve.Credit:Getty Images
While Sunday night footy has been criticised by fans with young children, having this clash between old foes the night before a public holiday is likely to make it a blockbuster TV event.
Which teams have the toughest draws?
Sydney’s push to go one better in 2023 will have to be done the hard way, with double-up matches against premiers Geelong and semi-finalists Melbourne and Fremantle.
Meanwhile, Collingwood will be tested next year after their string of narrow wins en route to a preliminary final in 2022. The Magpies play the Cats, Lions and Blues twice, while Port Adelaide and Essendon also appear as unknown quantities.
But perhaps the most difficult fixture is the Western Bulldogs’, considering they only just scraped into the top eight this year. The Dogs must play the Cats, Tigers, Dockers and Power twice, sides they went 0-6 against in 2022, including in the elimination final against Fremantle.
It appears a much tougher fixture than that of ninth-placed Carlton, with the Blues to meet the Pies, Suns, Saints, Giants, Eagles and Demons twice. Last season the Blues finished with a better percentage than five of those sides, and only narrowly lost to the Demons in round 22 in the teams’ only encounter.
The Magpies had a magical run towards the preliminary finals in 2022, but next season appears tougher on paper.Credit:Getty Images
The Saints meet Hawthorn and North Melbourne twice, which could prove fruitful, and double-up games against the Suns, Tigers, Lions and Blues means they will avoid facing any teams who finished in the top five of this year’s ladder twice.
Meanwhile, Essendon face the Giants, Roos and Eagles twice next season, but that won’t guarantee them six wins, given they lost to two of those sides in 2022.
When players and coaches face their old sides
Returning St Kilda coach Ross Lyon will jump in the hot seat against Fremantle in round one, in search for a strong start to the Saints season. This year, under Brett Ratten, the Saints lost their season opener to Collingwood, so they’ll want to start 2023 off positively. They went 1-1 with Fremantle in 2022, winning in Perth in round two, before losing by 41 points in round 17.
In round three, the Thursday night blockbuster between the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions will pit Josh Dunkley against his old side for the first time. Dunkley was one of the marquee trades during the off-season, with that deal waiting until the final few minutes to be processed.
Hawthorn will also meet North Melbourne in round three, when four-time premiership Hawks mentor Alastair Clarkson will coach against former club for the first time.
Brodie Grundy will look to remind Collingwood fans of what he still capable of when he teams up with Max Gawn against the Magpies on King’s Birthday, while in round 11, the same ruck combo will hope to give former Demon Luke Jackson a working over when the Dees play the Dockers at the MCG.
