There is no secret the Western Australian clubs — and in particular Fremantle — are happy with the 2025 AFL fixture, and it isn’t difficult to understand why.
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The Dockers and West Coast Eagles have long lobbied for fairer slates, and a key step was taken this off-season to ensure that — all the while benefitting an interstate club in financial need.
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North Melbourne’s agreement to sell two home games per season for at least the next three years will work wonders for the Dockers and Eagles, and the dividends are already clear to see.
In particular for finals aspirants Fremantle, the placement of its ‘away’ meeting with the Kangaroos is ideal to say the least.
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In 2025, the Dockers will have a gilt-edged opportunity to not only secure wins throughout the middle portion of the season but also remain in their home state in preparation for a critical business end to the campaign.
After its Round 13 bye, Fremantle is scheduled to play three-straight games at Optus Stadium, starting against ‘hosts’ North Melbourne in Round 14.
It will then play 2024 bottom-eight finishers Essendon and St Kilda in back-to-back Thursday night home prime-time fixtures.
It is an invaluable four-week block spent in Western Australia, allowing for necessary respite ahead of a challenging final month of the season that will see the Dockers face 2024 finalists Carlton, Port Adelaide, Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs.
In other positive nuggets, Fremantle gets a nine-day break in between a Round 9 home match against Collingwood and a Round 10 trip to play GWS, and, in a commercial boon, the will play on Thursday or Friday night in three consecutive weeks between Round 7 (Anzac Night) and 9.
“From a travel perspective we are really pleased,” Dockers chief executive Simon Garlick told The West Australian.
“It is no secret we have been advocating for an extended period for more equity.
“We have got a number of blocks this year that really assist us. We travel once in the first four rounds, once in the five rounds of 11 to 16 and then once from rounds 20 to 23.
“We are in Perth for all of June when you include the bye and we have a run of seven of nine weeks at home from rounds 13 to 21. This is standard practice for Victorian clubs, but in reality for us, it’s a whole lot different.”
It might be the competition’s sixth-hardest schedule based on the 2024 percentage of their double-up opponents, but overall this is a slate Dockers supporters should see through a very positive lens.
“It has more equity for us,” Garlick said. “Us and West Coast will still travel more than any other club but we think it (the fixture) has a better balance to it.”
As for the Eagles, similarly, they will benefit from a valuable four-week block in the middle of the year where they will remain in WA.
West Coast is scheduled to host Geelong in Round 12, play the Roos in South Bunbury in Round 13, return to Optus Stadium to play Carlton in Round 14, before having its bye in Round 15.
Bottom-six finishers Melbourne, Adelaide and Richmond are among the sides the Eagles will face twice next year, and they will play four of their final six games at their home venue.
The only conceivable disadvantages in the eyes of the Eagles might be that for a team that finished the season 16th, they have just the sixth-easiest schedule of double-ups.
Also, of the aforementioned four-week WA block, two matchups are against finalists in the Cats and Blues, and they have to play their extra home game in South Bunbury instead of Optus Stadium.
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