AFL 2025: AFLW fixture released for 2025, AFLW double headers, flexible fixturing, midweek footy scrapped, Josh Bowler, news, comments, latest news

The AFL has confirmed the full AFLW fixture for 2025 and it’s set to be the longest season yet.

Unlike last year’s season, there will be no more midweek footy as the league returns to traditional time slots once more, while the league has also resisted the urge to have double headers with the men’s competition.

Traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood will kick things off on Thursday 14 August and the 2025 season will span 12 rounds over 12 weeks for the first time.

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Four weeks of finals will then follow and the NAB AFLW Grand Final will take place on Saturday 29 November.

The 10th iteration of the competition looks to celebrate iconic moments, grow rivalries and create traditions for fans.

It is the first time the AFLW competition will launch during the men’s home and away season since the women’s competition expanded to the full 18 teams. Round 1 of the AFLW takes place at the same time as Round 23 of the AFL.

Despite this, there are no traditional double-headers which had been floated as a potential way to attract more viewers and fans to games.

Indigenous Round celebrations will take place across Rounds 3 and 4 with Richmond and Essendon returning to the Top End for the Dreamtime match at TIO Stadium on Friday 29 August.

For the first time Pride Round will span two weeks in Rounds 9 and 10, with all teams having the opportunity to wear their Pride guernseys for a home game.

AFL Head of Strategy and Scheduling Josh Bowler said the AFLW fixture hopes to celebrate the 10 years of AFLW action while showcasing the emerging talent and rivalries in the game.

“As we head into the 10th season of the NAB AFLW competition it is important to recognise the moments and match-ups in the game that have helped shape the league so far, while also nurturing the emerging rivalries and making it easy and accessible for fans to attend,” Bowler said.

“The fixture is always a complex jigsaw to piece together and I’d like to thank all stakeholders including club representatives, senior coaches, our broadcast partners, the AFLPA and our team who have all worked incredibly hard to produce a fixture that enables fans to form even stronger connections with their team.”

The AFL has the flexibility to change times of matches during the crossover period with the men’s season as well.

“Given this is the first time we’ve launched the AFLW season within the men’s home and away season with all 18 teams, it was important to ensure fans can support both teams during the crossover, so we’ve introduced a Flexible Fixture Framework for W games,” Bowler said.

“This will only come into play if one club’s AFL and AFLW match windows are within one hour of overlapping, then we may have a slight time change to make sure one finishes before the other starts. Further to that, if a club is hosting two home games over one weekend, these will fall on different days to ensure the club can operationally deliver the best possible match-day experience for fans across two venues.

“Our themed rounds will both fall across two rounds this year. It’s the first time Pride Round has spanned two weeks, we wanted to make sure clubs had the chance to wear their Pride jumpers for a home game. Pride Round will take place across Rounds 9 and 10, while Indigenous Round has been moved forward to align with Rounds 3 and 4.”

There will be three blockbuster rounds which feature Thursday night footy action, while the AFLW competition will also adopt a 6-6-6 fixture formation, just like the men’s does.

“We’ve been able to utilise Thursday night footy and then put emphasis on scheduling games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in timeslots that make it accessible for fans and families to attend as we strive to create consistency within this fixture,” Bowler added.

“For the first time the women’s fixture also takes a six-six-six approach to its opponent framework which aligns to the weighted rule for double match ups in the men’s competition. To manage over the expansion period, the previous model split the ladder into the bottom nine and top nine, but is now divided into three groups of six, and maximises the number of match ups within each group across the season.”

2025 NAB AFLW FIXTURE

Round One

Thursday, Aug 14

Carlton v Collingwood at Ikon Park, 7:15pm AEST (Seven)

West Coast v Gold Coast at Sullivan Logistics Stadium, 7:15pm AWST (Seven)

Friday, Aug 15

Sydney v Richmond at North Sydney Oval, 6:15pm AEST (FOX)

Saturday, Aug 16

Geelong v North Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium, 3:35pm AEST (FOX)

Greater Western Sydney v Essendon at Corroboree Group Manuka Oval, 5:35pm AEST (FOX)

Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Mission Whitten Oval, 7:35pm AEST (Seven)

Sunday, Aug 17

Brisbane Lions v Hawthorn at Brighton Homes Arena, 12:40pm AEST (Seven)

St Kilda v Adelaide at RSEA Park, 2:10pm AEST (FOX)

Port Adelaide v Fremantle at Alberton Oval 3:40pm ACST (FOX)

Round Two

Saturday, Aug 23

Collingwood v Greater Western Sydney at Victoria Park, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Melbourne v St Kilda at Casey Fields 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Gold Coast v Sydney at People First Stadium, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Fremantle v Brisbane at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, 3:05pm AWST (FOX)

Hawthorn v Carlton at Kinetic Stadium, 7:15pm AEST (Seven)

Sunday, Aug 24

Essendon v West Coast at Windy Hill, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

North Melbourne v Port Adelaide at Arden Street Oval, 1:05pm AEST (Seven)

Richmond v Western Bulldogs at Ikon Park, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Adelaide v Geelong at Unley Oval, 2:35pm ACST (Seven)

Round Three

Friday, Aug 29

Richmond v Essendon at TIO Stadium, 6:45pm ACST (Seven)

Saturday, Aug 30

Greater Western Sydney v Adelaide at Henson Park, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

St Kilda v West Coast at RSEA Park, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Geelong v Sydney at GMHBA Stadium, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Port Adelaide v Gold Coast at Alberton Oval, 4:35pm ACST (FOX)

Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn at Mission Whitten Oval, 7:15pm AEST (Seven)

Sunday, Aug 31

Collingwood v Melbourne at Victoria Park, 1:05pm AEST (Seven)

Fremantle v North Melbourne at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, 1:05pm AWST (Seven)

Brisbane v Carlton at Brighton Homes Arena, 5:05pm AEST (FOX)

Round Four

Saturday, Sep 6

Melbourne v Richmond at Casey Field, 12:35pm AEST (FOX)

Gold Coast v Greater Western Sydney at People First Stadium, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Carlton v Western Bulldogs at Ikon Park, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Hawthorn v St Kilda at Cazalys Stadium, 7:15pm AEST (FOX)

Sunday, Sep 7

Sydney v Fremantle at Henson Park, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Adelaide v Brisbane at Norwood Oval, 12:35pm ACST (Seven)

North Melbourne v Collingwood at Arden Street Oval, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Essendon v Geelong at Windy Hill, 3:05pm AEST (Seven)

West Coast v Port Adelaide at Mineral Resources Park, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Round Five

Saturday, Sep 13

Collingwood v Sydney at Victoria Park, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Carlton v Gold Coast at Ikon Park, 2:35pm AEST (FOX)

Port Adelaide v Melbourne at Alberton Oval, 2:35pm ACST (FOX)

Greater Western Sydney v Western Bulldogs at Corroboree Group Manuka Oval, 4:35pm AEST (FOX)

Sunday, Sep 14

Essendon v St Kilda at Windy Hill, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Richmond v Geelong at Ikon Park, 1:05pm AEST (Seven)

Hawthorn v Adelaide at Kinetic Stadium, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Brisbane v North Melbourne at Brighton Homes Arena, 3:05pm AEST (Seven)

Fremantle v West Coast at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, 3:05pm AWST (FOX)

Round Six

Saturday, Sep 20

Collingwood v Hawthorn at Victoria Park, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

North Melbourne v Carlton at Arden Street Oval, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Fremantle v Essendon at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, 1:05pm AWST (FOX)

Port Adelaide v Geelong at Alberton Oval, 7:35pm ACST (FOX)

Sunday, Sep 21

Sydney v Greater Western Sydney at Henson Park, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Melbourne v West Coast at Casey Fields, 1:05pm AEST (Seven)

Western Bulldogs v Brisbane at Mission Whitten Oval, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

St Kilda v Richmond at RSEA Park, 3:05pm AEST (Seven)

Gold Coast v Adelaide at People First Stadium, 5:05pm AEST (FOX)

Round Seven

Thursday, Sep 25

Geelong v Hawthorn at GMHBA Stadium, 7:15pm AEST (Seven)

Friday, Sep 26

Melbourne v Gold Coast at Casey Fields, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

Essendon v North Melbourne at Windy Hill, 3:05pm AEST (Seven)

Carlton v Fremantle at Ikon Park, 5:05pm AEST (FOX)

Western Bulldogs v Collingwood at Mission Whitten Oval, 7:15pm AEST (Seven)

Sunday, Sep 28

St Kilda v Port Adelaide at RSEA Park, 1:05pm AEST (Seven)

Adelaide v Sydney at Unley Oval, 2:35pm ACST (FOX)

Brisbane v Richmond at Brighton Homes Arena, 3:05pm AEST (Seven)

West Coast v Greater Western Sydney at Mineral Resources Park, 3:05pm AWST (FOX)

Round Eight

Thursday, Oct 2

Hawthorn v Fremantle at Kinetic Stadium, 7:15pm AEST (FOX)

Friday, Oct 3

Melbourne v Essendon at Ikon Park, 7:15pm AEST (Seven)

Saturday, Oct 4

Greater Western Sydney v St Kilda at Henson Park, 1:05pm AEST (FOX)

North Melbourne v Sydney at UTAS Stadium, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Gold Coast v Brisbane at People First Stadium, 5:05pm AEST (FOX)

Port Adelaide v Western Bulldogs at Alberton Oval, 6:45pm ACST (Seven)

Sunday, Oct 5

Richmond v Adelaide at Ikon Park, 1:05pm AEDT (Seven)

Geelong v Carlton GMHBA Stadium, 3:05pm AEDT (Seven)

West Coast v Collingwood at Mineral Resources Park, 2:05pm AWST (FOX)

Round Nine

Friday, Oct 10

Western Bulldogs v Essendon at Mission Whitten Oval, 7:15pm AEDT (Seven)

Saturday, Oct 11

Adelaide v West Coast at Norwood Oval, 12:35pm ACDT (FOX)

Geelong v Greater Western Sydney at GMHBA Stadium, 3:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Hawthorn v Gold Coast at Kinetic Stadium, 3:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Brisbane v Port Adelaide at Brighton Homes Arena, 4:05pm AEST (FOX)

Richmond v North Melbourne at Ikon Park, 7:15pm AEDT (Seven)

Sunday, Oct 12

Sydney v Carlton at Henson Park, 1:05pm AEDT (Seven)

St Kilda v Collingwood at RSEA Park, 3:05pm AEDT (Seven)

Fremantle v Melbourne at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, 2:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Round 10

Friday, Oct 17

Port Adelaide v Hawthorn at Alberton Oval, 6:45pm ACDT (Seven)

West Coast v Geelong at Sullivan Logistics Stadium, 6:15pm AWST (FOX)

Saturday, Oct 18

Melbourne v Sydney at Casey Fields, 1:05pm AEDT (FOX)

North Melbourne v Adelaide at Arden Street Oval, 3:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Greater Western Sydney v Fremantle at Henson Park, 3:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Carlton v St Kilda at Ikon Park, 7:15pm AEDT (Seven)

Sunday, Oct 19

Essendon v Brisbane at Windy Hill, 1:05pm AEDT (Seven)

Collingwood v Richmond at Victoria Park, 3:05pm AEDT (Seven)

Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs at Great Barrier Reef Arena, 4:05pm AEST (FOX)

Round 11

Friday, Oct 24

Adelaide v Port Adelaide at Norwood Oval, 6:45pm ACDT (Seven)

Saturday, Oct 25

Sydney v West Coast at Henson Park, 1:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Essendon v Hawthorn at Windy Hill, 3:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Fremantle v Richmond at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, 2:05pm AWST (FOX)

Brisbane v Melbourne at Brighton Homes Arena, 6:15pm AEST (FOX)

Sunday, Oct 26

Western Bulldogs v Geelong at Mars Stadium, 1:05pm AEDT (Seven)

North Melbourne v St Kilda at North Hobart Oval, 1:05pm AEDT (FOX)

Carlton v Greater Western Sydney at Ikon Park, 3:05pm AEDT (Seven)

Gold Coast v Collingwood at Bond University, 3:05pm AEST (FOX)

Round 12

Friday, Oct 31 – Sunday, Nov 2

Adelaide v Fremantle at Norwood Oval – time and broadcaster TBC

Collingwood v Brisbane at Victoria Park – time and broadcaster TBC

Geelong v Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium – time and broadcaster TBC

Greater Western Sydney v Port Adelaide at Henson Park – time and broadcaster TBC

Hawthorn v North Melbourne at Kinetic Stadium – time and broadcaster TBC

Richmond v Gold Coast at Ikon Park – time and broadcaster TBC

St Kilda v Western Bulldogs at RSEA Park – time and broadcaster TBC

Sydney v Essendon at C.ex Coffs International Stadium – time and broadcaster TBC

West Coast v Carlton at Sullivan Logistics Stadium – time and broadcaster TBC