The AFL has today announced the fixture for Rounds 14 to 17 of the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season which will deliver matches played in 18 out of the 19 days of the fixture block.
A compressed fixture block will feature matches played across Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, including three matches in Cairns.
Round 14 will commence on Thursday 27 August with a double header match up as Hawthorn play Essendon at Adelaide Oval 4:40pm EST, followed by the battle of the two last Premiership clubs, Richmond and West Coast at Metricon Stadium 7:10pm EST.
The AFL returns to Alice Springs in the previously announced Round 14, Heart of the Nation game when Melbourne host St Kilda at TIO Traeger Park.
The match, scheduled for Saturday 29 August at 7:40pm EST (7:10pm local), continues Melbourne’s long association with the Northern Territory and will be their 7th match in 7 years played in Alice Springs, while the Saints play a match in the NT for the first time in 30 years.
Cazalys Stadium in Cairns will host three matches in this block including Round 15 Sydney Swans vs. Melbourne, Round 16 Melbourne vs Fremantle and Round 17 Sydney Swans vs Brisbane Lions.
The GABBA will host eight matches including Carlton vs Collingwood in Round 14, the annual ‘Q Clash’ between Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast SUNS in Round 17 and Brisbane Lions vs Collingwood in Round 15.
Optus Stadium will host its last home and away season match in Round 14, Fremantle vs GWS GIANTS, as both the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle will complete the rest of their game’s interstate after a six-week run of matches in Perth. Both clubs will have played seven games at Optus Stadium across the season.
Round 16 will feature the annual ‘Country game’ between Essendon and Geelong, scheduled for Sunday 6 September at The Gabba.
Round 17 will be the ‘Member’s THANK YOU Round’, where the league and all clubs will thank and acknowledge all the loyal members who have stuck with the clubs and in some instances, in record numbers throughout the COVID pandemic.
The teams that didn’t have a BYE in the last block will all receive one in this block with the exception of Essendon and Melbourne as a result of their postponed match in Round 3. Adelaide Crows and Brisbane Lions in Round 14, Port Adelaide, Gold Coast SUNS, North Melbourne, Geelong Cats, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs in Round 15 then Collingwood and Richmond in Round 16.
Melbourne and Essendon who didn’t play a match in Round 3, will now complete this match in Round 18.
Round 18 match ups are now confirmed, as the last match up teams have for the home and away season. The Round 18 Fixture will be announced in the coming weeks.
AFL General Manager of Clubs and Broadcasting Travis Auld said the last block of games for the season was the most challenging one yet.
“In many ways this block of games has been the most challenging to complete, given the intricacies of a compression phase combined with the reduced flexibility attached to the back end of the fixture. Every aspect of the fixture has a flow on impact at this point which makes achieving the right balance of factors and constraints especially difficult.” Mr Auld said.
“These are unprecedented times and the fixture this year has reflected the unique challenges presented across season.”
Mr Auld said it made sense to compress the last part of the season prior to returning to a more traditional Round 18 and 2020 Toyota AFL Finals Series.
“The feedback from clubs, players, broadcasters and fans has been supportive of the initial compression phase of Rounds 9-12. Clubs and players are enjoying playing more often and viewership remains very strong, with the average audience per game up 14%.”
“Scheduling a second compression phase allows us to again play more matches in a shorter period of time as the majority of clubs continue to live in a hub environment.
“The support of players, clubs and broadcasters to take this approach, paired with the limitations on attendance at matches, supports the playing of games in non-traditional time-slots that allow us to showcase our game to fans across the entire week.”
Across the four rounds, night-time double headers will be featured on Tuesday nights in Round 15 and 16 and Thursday nights in Round 14 and 15.
Four-day breaks will again be used with West Coast having two, while Fremantle, Carlton, Melbourne, St Kilda, GWS Giants and Brisbane Lions all have one.
“Across both compression periods, no club will have more than three four-day breaks.” Mr Auld said.
“In constructing this block of matches we have focused on ensuring the teams with four-day breaks are, where possible, minimising travel in and around those matches. As in the previous compression period, teams who have four-day breaks in this block will not play against a team who is coming off a seven-day break, or more.”
Mr Auld thanked the clubs, the players and AFLPA and the broadcasters for being so cooperative in an unprecedented period for our game.
“The entire AFL industry’s collaboration through this unique season of football has been a defining factor in allowing the competition to continue. I would like to thank the clubs, the players and the AFLPA for understanding the challenge and playing their part in helping piece this next block of games together.
“I would also like to thank the umpires who have made similar sacrifices across this season.
“It is important for us to remain flexible and agile and to continue to embrace the unique challenges the season continues to throw up.”
Matches will be broadcast live by the Seven Network, Foxtel and via Kayo and the official AFL Live App thanks to Telstra.
The AFL would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of all industry stakeholders throughout this process as well as Optimal Planning Solutions for their assistance in the construction of the fixture.
See below fixture for Rounds 14 through 17 of the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
Round 18 match ups are below with times and locations to be confirmed in coming weeks.
Round 14
Thursday, August 27
Hawthorn v Essendon, Adelaide Oval, 4.40pm AEST, 4.10pm ACST
Richmond v West Coast, Metricon Stadium, 7.10pm AEST
Friday, August 28
Western Bulldogs v Geelong, Metricon Stadium, 7.50pm AEST
Saturday, August 29
Port Adelaide v Sydney, Adelaide Oval, 1.45pm AEST, 1.15pm ACST
Fremantle v Greater Western Sydney, Optus Stadium, 4.35pm AEST, 2.35pm ACST
Melbourne v St Kilda, TIO Traeger Park, 7.40pm AEST, 7.10pm ACST
Sunday, August 30
Carlton v Collingwood, The Gabba, 3.35pm AEST
Gold Coast v North Melbourne, Metricon Stadium, 6.10pm AEST
Byes: Adelaide, Brisbane
Round 15
Tuesday, September 1
Hawthorn v Adelaide, Adelaide Oval, 5.40pm AEST, 5.10pm ACST
West Coast v Essendon, The Gabba, 8.10pm AEST
Wednesday, September 2
Richmond v Fremantle, Metricon Stadium, 7.10pm AEST
Thursday, September 3
Sydney v Melbourne, Cazalys Stadium, 4.40pm AEST
Greater Western Sydney v Carlton,Metricon Stadium, 7.10pm AEST
Friday, September 4
Brisbane v Collingwood, The Gabba (SEVEN) 7.50pm AEST
Byes: Geelong, Gold Coast, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs
Round 16
Saturday, September 5
North Melbourne v Port Adelaide, Metricon Stadium, 7.40pm AEST
Sunday, September 6
St Kilda v Hawthorn, Metricon Stadium, 1.05pm AEST
Geelong v Essendon, The Gabba, 3.35pm AEST
Western Bulldogs v West Coast, Metricon Stadium, 6.10pm AEST
Monday, September 7
Melbourne v Fremantle, Cazalys Stadium, 7.10pm AEST
Tuesday, September 8
Adelaide v Greater Western Sydney, Adelaide Oval, 5.40pm AEST, 5.10pm ACST
Carlton v Sydney, Metricon Stadium, 8.10pm AEST
Wednesday, September 9
Brisbane v Gold Coast, The Gabba, 7.10pm AEST
Byes: Collingwood, Richmond
Round 17
Thursday, September 10
St Kilda v West Coast, The Gabba, 7.10pm AEST
Friday, September 11
Geelong v Richmond, Metricon Stadium, 7.50pm AEST
Saturday, September 12
North Melbourne v Fremantle, Metricon Stadium, 1.45pm AEST
Port Adelaide v Essendon, Adelaide Oval, 4.35pm AEST, 4.05pm ACST
Greater Western Sydney v Melbourne, The Gabba, 7.40pm AEST
Sunday, September 13
Carlton v Adelaide, Metricon Stadium, 1.05pm AEST
Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs, Adelaide Oval, 3.35pm AEST, 3.05pm ACST
Sydney v Brisbane, Cazalys Stadium, 6.10pm AEST
Monday, September 14
Collingwood v Gold Coast, The Gabba, 7.10pm AEST
Round 18 (all venues, times TBC)
Adelaide v Richmond
Brisbane v Carlton
Collingwood v Port Adelaide
Essendon v Melbourne
Fremantle v Western Bulldogs
Hawthorn v Gold Coast
North Melbourne v West Coast
St Kilda v Greater Western Sydney
Sydney v Geelong
