The good, the bad and who you play twice: Club-by-club look at the 2025 fixture

Games against top eight: 10
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Fremantle, Hawthorn, Melbourne
Byes: Rounds 3, 14
Games at the MCG: 14
Thursday night games: 3
Friday night games: 4
What’s good: Collingwood play at the MCG for four straight weeks from rounds 19 to 22, including hosting two interstate teams, and have their usual stack of primetime footy.
What’s bad: There is a scenario where the Pies enter their round seven showdown with Essendon at 0-5, then face Geelong and a trip west to take on Fremantle after that.

ESSENDON

Games against top eight: 12
Top four: 6
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Carlton, Geelong, Gold Coast, Richmond, Sydney, Western Bulldogs
Byes: Rounds 4, 16
Games at the MCG: 8
Thursday night games: 4
Friday night games: 4
What’s good: Two games against the rebuilding Tigers is a win, while Essendon will have at least eight appearances in the Thursday and Friday night timeslots.
What’s bad: The Bombers will hope this year’s best teams do not all repeat their form because if they do, this is a difficult fixture. They follow Gather Round with a trip to Perth.

FREMANTLE

Games against top eight: 11
Top four: 6
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Sydney, St Kilda, West Coast, Western Bulldogs
Byes: Opening round, round 13
Games at the MCG: 2
Thursday night games: 2
Friday night games: 2
What’s good: A bye in round 13 followed by home games against North Melbourne, Essendon and St Kilda is a good opportunity for the Dockers to book some wins.
What’s bad: Eleven games against top-eight opposition, including two meetings with 2024 grand finalists Sydney.

GEELONG

Games against top eight: 8
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Richmond, Essendon, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, Brisbane, GWS
Byes: Rounds 3, 16
Games at the MCG: 5
Thursday night games: 3
Friday night games: 2
What’s good: Richmond twice for the year is unfathomably good. They play Essendon and Richmond both at home at GMHBA Stadium, where they will host 10 matches. Don’t play Swans for the first time until round 23, which is weird if nothing else.
What’s bad: Getting the premiers twice should not surprise but is also not ideal. Port were a poor top-four team, so what could look bad – getting them twice – is not as tough as it might be. First game in Victoria isn’t until round two, and it’s a Saturday night against St Kilda at Marvel.

GOLD COAST

Games against top eight: 9
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 6
Play twice: Adelaide, Brisbane, Essendon, GWS, Melbourne, Richmond
Byes: Rounds 2, 14
Games at the MCG: 1
Thursday night games: 1
Friday night games: 0
What’s good: Could be up for a fast start as Gold Coast face four bottom-four teams before round seven (there’s a bye in there, too).
What’s bad: Consecutive games against grand finalists Sydney, then reigning premiers Brisbane.

GWS

Games against top eight: 10
Top four: 6
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: West Coast, Gold Coast, Sydney, Geelong, Western Bulldogs, St Kilda
Byes: Rounds 2, 16
Games at the MCG: 1
Thursday night games: 0
Friday night games: 0
What’s good: Don’t get Brisbane twice but, of course, get the Swans twice for a derby. It’s not a great draw for the Giants.
What’s bad: One game at the MCG, no Thursday or Friday night games, and they dominate Saturday and Sunday afternoon timeslots. They play the Eagles only once, and it is away for long travel.

HAWTHORN

Games against top eight: 10
Top four: 4
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Carlton, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Collingwood, Adelaide
Byes: Rounds 4, 15
Games at the MCG: 10
Thursday night games: 3
Friday night games: 4
What’s good: The night Hawks. Nine of the 16 games that have timeslots so far are night matches, and 10 of the 16 are on Channel Seven – free-to-air coverage is far more lucrative for sponsors. They won’t shudder at playing any of the teams they have drawn twice.
What’s bad: They play Adelaide twice as a bottom-four team, but they were the best of the bottom four. Sydney at the SCG, Essendon, Carlton, GWS (in Tasmania), Port (away) and Geelong at the ’G, with a bye thrown in, is a tough opening to the season.

MELBOURNE

Games against top eight: 9
Top four: 4
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Hawthorn, St Kilda, North Melbourne, West Coast, Collingwood, Gold Coast
Byes: Opening round, round 15
Games at the MCG: 12
Thursday night games: 1
Friday night games: 0
What’s good: Double-ups against North Melbourne and West Coast are a good result, and the only finalists they play twice are Hawthorn. They won’t travel again after early July.
What’s bad: The Dees face a brutal stretch in the middle third of the season, where they are on the road six times in 10 rounds, including a run of three matches in a row, broken by their bye.

NORTH MELBOURNE

Games against top eight: 11
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Carlton, Richmond, Sydney, Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide
Byes: Opening round, round 12
Games at the MCG: 3
Thursday night games: 1
Friday night games: 0
What’s good: The Kangaroos will play their first Thursday night game since 2016 when they play Essendon in round eight, a fortnight after their Good Friday blockbuster against Carlton. Four games on free-to-air in the first eight rounds gives them early exposure.
What’s bad: No Friday night lights for the club that pioneered that time slot. Ten games interstate will not please their Melbourne-based faithful, though there is a financial boom for their back-to-back “home” games in WA. Their best chance for a win might not come until Gather Round against Gold Coast.

PORT ADELAIDE

Games against top eight: 11
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong, Carlton, Adelaide, Fremantle
Byes: Opening round, round 12
Games at the MCG: 1
Thursday night games: 1
Friday night games: 0
What’s good: With four games against non-finalists to start the season, Ken Hinkley gets the chance to bed down early wins to avoid speculation about his future. The grudge match against Hawthorn makes for a box office finish to Gather Round.
What’s bad: Playing two clubs from the top four twice, plus a trip to the Gabba, is tough enough. On top of double-ups against early flag fancies Hawthorn and Carlton, it makes for a difficult draw.

RICHMOND

Games against top eight: 9
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Essendon, Geelong, West Coast, North Melbourne, St Kilda, Gold Coast
Byes: Opening round, round 14
Games at the MCG: 13
Thursday night games: 2
Friday night games: 1
What’s good: Despite their tumble, the Tigers have retained the marquee fixtures of round one, Anzac eve and Dreamtime, the latter on a Friday night for the first time. They’ve done well with the clubs they face twice as five of them are tipped to have low finishes again.
What’s bad: They play every team above them. Seriously though, round six against Gold Coast at Marvel may be the first time Richmond fans get to shout “yellow and black”. If they haven’t already, it’s time to get Foxtel. Only five of their first 14 games are on free-to-air TV.

ST KILDA

Games against top eight: 10
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 4
Play twice: Geelong, Western Bulldogs, GWS, Melbourne, Richmond, Fremantle
Byes: Opening round, round 13
Games at the MCG: 2
Thursday night games: 1
Friday night games: 1
What’s good: The Saints are part of the AFL’s Easter Sunday night experiment, which could create a new marquee timeslot. If they are close enough, leaving Victoria just once from July gives the Saints a friendly run to the finals.
What’s bad: It’s a tough early run for the Saints, who are likely to start favourites just once in their first seven games. They play just one bottom-four team twice, Richmond, which may be pivotal in making finals. Having their Thursday/Friday night games halved from four to two is another blow.

SYDNEY

Games against top eight: 10
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: Brisbane Lions, Fremantle, Port Adelaide, GWS, Essendon, North Melbourne
Byes: Rounds 3, 14
Games at the MCG: 2
Thursday night games: 0
Friday night games: 3
What’s good: Play Carlton once, and it’s a home game. Geelong only once, but at the SCG. Oddly, it’s not until round 23. The Dogs gave them a touch up at the SCG this season, and they get the Dogs only once.
What’s bad: Playing Brisbane twice, but that is expected given it will be a grand final rematch. Only one Saturday night game and one Saturday twilight at the SCG. Will always play Giants twice, but that is tough. Don’t play Collingwood as a home game.

WEST COAST

Games against top eight: 9
Top four: 4
Bottom four: 6
Play twice: Adelaide, Carlton, Fremantle, GWS, Melbourne, Richmond
Byes: Opening Round, round 15
Games at the MCG: 1
Thursday night games: 0
Friday night games: 1
What’s good: Stay west for three weeks for games against Geelong, North Melbourne and Carlton before a bye in round 15.
What’s bad: The Eagles will travel to the Gabba in round two ahead of a derby at home, and the Giants in Sydney a week later to complete a tough three-week stretch.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Games against top eight: 9
Top four: 5
Bottom four: 5
Play twice: North Melbourne, Fremantle, Brisbane, St Kilda, GWS, Essendon
Byes: Opening round, round 12
Games at the MCG: 2
Thursday night games: 3
Friday night games: 2
What’s good: This is a good footy draw, and not a bad commercial draw. The Dogs play only two top-eight sides twice, and only one top-four team (Brisbane). They start with three games on Friday or Saturday nights.
What’s bad: Only two MCG games, and they don’t play Richmond until round 15. They get West Coast just once, and it is not until round 23, which makes early wins more critical.