THE AFL is pleased to announce the dates and times for rounds 16 to 23 of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
Friday night double headers will feature three times in the second half of the season, during round 17, round 20 and round 23, aimed at maximising primetime audience whilst also managing team travel and breaks between games.
Traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood will play at the MCG in round 17 before we head west for the West Coast Eagles to take on the GWS GIANTS in the first of the double headers.
Round 20 will see Essendon take on the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium ahead of the GIANTS playing the Sydney Swans at Engie. Essendon will headline the round 23 double header when they play St Kilda at Marvel Stadium before Fremantle line up against the Brisbane Lions at Optus Stadium.
The Western Bulldogs feature prominently across Thursday (2) and Friday (3) nights, along with Carlton who has four Thursday night matches and one Friday night.
Collingwood, GWS GIANTS and Hawthorn all feature twice on Thursday nights, whilst Essendon will have three Friday night matches and the Brisbane Lions, Collingwood, GWS GIANTS and Sydney Swans featuring twice.
Round 20 is highlighted by crosstown state clashes, with the Sydney Derby taking centre stage on Friday night at Engie Stadium, before we head north on Saturday afternoon for the Q-Clash at People First Stadium, followed by the Western Derby at Optus Stadium later in the afternoon. The Showdown will round out the state-based rivalries as the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide light up Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
The 2023 and 2024 Grand Final rematches feature in Rounds 21 and 22 respectively as Collingwood play the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night at the MCG and the Lions play host to the Sydney Swans at the Gabba in Saturday twilight the following week.
Rounds 16-19 will see the return of Kids Go Free, thanks to Coles. Children aged 14 years under will be able to gain free entry to matches, subject to availability, played across the four rounds, lining up with school holidays nationwide.
AFL Head of Strategy and Scheduling Josh Bowler said this fixture will deliver an exciting end to the home and away season.
"The first nine Rounds of the Toyota AFL Premiership season have delivered some of the most exciting football we have seen with close margins, high scoring, record attendances and strong ratings across the board," Bowler said.
"This season has delivered more Thursday nights than ever before with this key timeslot featuring in all AFL Rounds except Round 23 when we will see the exciting inaugural AFLW re-match between Carlton and Collingwood kick off the 10th NAB AFLW season.
"This back end of the season fixture is aimed at maximising momentum into the finals which is shaping up to be one of the tightest races in recent history.
"We are excited to schedule a number of Friday night double headers aimed at maximising primetime audience whilst also managing team travel and breaks between games."
The fixture for Round 24 will be announced later in the season to maximise the best timeslots and interest for fans as teams aim to lock down finals spots. Round 24 will feature the rescheduled Gold Coast SUNS vs Essendon match from Opening Round.
