More fan-friendly double-headers with VFL games, plus Friday night football are the highlights of the 2023 rebel VFLW fixture.
The 2023 rebel VFLW fixture was released last week highlighted by Round 1 double-headers locked in for Victoria Park and the NEC Hangar, and they keep coming as the season goes on, with a total of 33 locked in to the end of Round 13.
A smorgasbord of football features on Good Friday, April 7, with three rebel VFLW scheduled on April 7, including a clash between arch-rivals Williamstown and Port Melbourne at DSV Stadium.
Casey Demons make two trips to the country, playing Western Bulldogs at Ballarat’s Mars Stadium in Round 1 and Box Hill Hawks in a Wonthaggi double-header with the Smithy’s VFL on Sunday, April 30.
Friday night football has been scheduled for Round 5, with Port Melbourne and the Hawks to take centre stage at ETU Stadium on April 21.
The fixture once again brackets the 12 clubs into three groups of four based on their 2022 finishing positions, meaning the three double-up games for each club will be against opponents who ended up in the same section of the ladder.
It means premier Essendon, grand finalist Southern Saints, Casey Demons and Box Hill Hawks will face each other twice in the top bracket.
Geelong, Collingwood, North Melbourne and Darebin Falcons slot into the middle group and Carlton, Port Melbourne, Williamstown and the Western Bulldogs will play two games from the bottom four.
There will be a general bye on the King’s Birthday long weekend, giving clubs the chance to reset for the last three rounds of the season.
The finals will again feature the top-six system adopted in 2019, with the 2023 rebel VFLW Grand Final being scheduled for Sunday, July 30.
Using a rating system where playing reigning premier Essendon away is the hardest game to negotiate and hosting last year’s bottom team the Western Bulldogs the easiest, Port Melbourne landed the friendliest fixture, while the Southern Saints have nominally the hardest set of matches.
Here is the full rebel VFLW fixture, and the breakdown of who each team will play twice and the ratings of their fixture.
Difficulty score – 1.5 points per ladder position when playing at home, 1 when away or at a neutral venue. Lowest score is the hardest fixture.
Coach: Cherie O’Neill (2nd season)
Last season: 4th (12-3-1) as Hawthorn
Fixture: Ess (A), WB (H), SS (A), Col (H), PM (A), Cas (N), Dar (A), Ess (H), Car (H), NM (A), Wil (H), Gee (A), Cas (A), SS (H)
Plays twice: Casey Demons, Essendon, Southern Saints
Summary: The Box Hill Hawks name returns to the VFLW competition and the Hawks’ first-up task couldn’t be more daunting than the undefeated reigning premiers on their home ground, then a trip to the losing grand finalists in Round 3 The struggling Bulldogs may provide some relief between those two huge challenges. Finishing in the top four gives last year means the Hawks have return matches against the Bombers, Saints and Demons. The fixture has tough games dotted right through it, so they will need to be on their mettle all season.
Difficulty score: 100.5 (ranked 3rd)
Coach: Tom Stafford (2nd season)
Last season: 9th (4-9-1)
Fixture: PM (H), Gee (H), Ess (A), NM (A), Wil (H), PM (A), Cas (H), WB (H), Box (A), Wil (A), SS (H), Col (A), WB (N), Dar (H)
Plays twice: Port Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Williamstown
Summary: Still searching for a maiden VFLW finals appearance, the Blues have a chance to stake their claim with two home games to kick off the 2023 season. The fixture is quite friendly given they slot into Group 9-12 after a bottom four finish last year. Three home games in four weeks from Rounds 5-8 is a chance to make a move, while they will be confident of finishing the season strongly against the Bulldogs and Falcons.
Difficulty score: 126.5 (ranked equal 10th)
Coach: Peter Mercoulia (3rd season)
Last season: 3rd (12-5)
Fixture: WB (N), Dar (H), Col (H), Ess (A), SS (H), Box (N), Car (A), Wil (A), NM (H), SS (A), Gee (A), Ess (H), Box (H), PM (H)
Plays twice: Box Hill Hawks, Essendon, Southern Saints
Summary: Nominally it is a tough fixture in Group 1-4, but the Demons have a golden opportunity to get off to another flyer with the Bulldogs followed by two home games in the first three weeks. Rounds 4-6 will be the biggest test, but if they are in good shape at the business end, three home games to finish could set up their premiership assault.
Difficulty score: 101 (ranked 4th)
Coach: Chloe McMillan (3rd season)
Last season: 6th (7-8)
Fixture: Wil (H), PM (A), Cas (A), Box (A), Ess (H), Dar (H), Gee (A), NM (H), SS (H), WB (N), Dar (A), Car (H), Gee (H), NM (A)
Plays twice: Darebin Falcons, Geelong Cats, North Melbourne
Summary: A challenging start to the season. Although they will be strong favourites against Williamstown, three away games in a row to follow could be damaging to their finals hopes if they can’t win at least one or two of them. The run into the finals, however, looks much better, with the Magpies to be well fancied in each of the last five matches.
Difficulty score: 113.5 (ranked 8th)
Coach: Kate Tyndall (2nd season)
Last season: 8th (5-9)
Fixture: SS (H), Cas (A), Gee (A), Wil (A), NM (H), Col (A), Box (H), Gee (H), WB (N), Ess (H), Col (H), PM (H), NM (A), Car (A)
Plays twice: Collingwood, Geelong Cats, North Melbourne
Summary: A dangerous start for the Falcons, with the first three games against 2022 finalists, two of them on the road. Their terrific first half of last year lands them in Group 5-8, which means a tougher set of double-up matches. The run of three home games plus the Bulldogs from Rounds 7-10 shapes as season defining.
Difficulty score: 105.5 (ranked 5th)
Coach: Travis Cloke (replacing Brendan Major)
Last season: Premiers (15-0-2)
Fixture: Box (H), SS (A), Car (H), Cas (H), Col (A), Wil (A), SS (H), Box (A), Gee (H), Dar (A), NM (H), Cas (A), PM (A), WB (H)
Plays twice: Box Hill Hawks, Casey Demons, Southern Saints
Summary: Undefeated in 2022, the Bombers will be looking to maintain their dominance under Travis Cloke in 2023. Of course they have double ups against the other three teams in last year’s top four, but three home games in the first four weeks is a golden opportunity for a flying start. There isn’t anything that will give them a lot of cause for concern, with Casey Demons the only opponent from Rounds 10-14 that they won’t be supremely confident of beating.
Difficulty score: 107 (ranked 6th)
Coach: Elise Coventry (replacing Andrew Bruce)
Last season: 5th (10-5)
Fixture: NM (H), Car (A), Dar (H), SS (A), WB (H), NM (A), Col (H), Dar (A), Ess (A), PM (H), Cas (H), Box (H), Col (A), Wil (A)
Plays twice: Collingwood, Darebin Falcons, North Melbourne
Summary: A juicy fixture for the Cats with five games they will be favoured to win in the first six weeks. They will want to take full advantage though, with no guarantees for the rest of the season, given they host the more-fancied teams and travel to the others. They wouldn’t want to be relying on the last month to secure their finals spot with home games against Casey Demons and Box Hill Hawks, followed by trips to Collingwood and Williamstown.
Difficulty score: 119 (ranked 9th)
Coach: Steph Binder (2nd season)
Last season: 7th (6-8)
Fixture: Gee (A), Wil (H), WB (N), Car (H), Dar (A), Gee (H), PM (A), Col (A), Cas (A), Box (H), Ess (A), SS (H), Dar (H), Col (H)
Plays twice: Collingwood, Darebin Falcons, Geelong Cats
Summary: A tough start with a trip to Geelong in Round 1, but if the Kangaroos can get through that they will be confident of potentially reaching 7-0 in the first half of the year, given they host Williamstown, Carlton and Geelong and travel to the Bulldogs (neutral) and Darebin. The second half of the season is a much bigger task, although playing the last three games at Arden St could be crucial in their bid for a finals berth.
Difficulty score: 112.5 (ranked 7th)
Coach: Sean Buncle (2nd season)
Last season: 10th (3-11)
Fixture: Car (A), Col (H), Wil (A), WB (H), Box (H), Car (H), NM (H), SS (A), Wil (H), Gee (A), WB (H), Dar (A), Ess (H), Cas (A)
Plays twice: Carlton, Western Bulldogs, Williamstown
Summary: Can the Borough bounce back from their 2022 slump? They will have every chance to get the perfect start, with the first four games being extremely winnable. If they take advantage of that, three home games from Rounds 5-7 could have them flying by mid-season. They will want to lock away their finals position early, with games against Essendon and Casey Demons in the last two weeks shaping as a challenge only the mentally toughest teams can overcome.
Difficulty score: 131 (ranked 12th)
Coach: Michelle Densley (replacing Dale Robinson)
Last season: 2nd (12-5-1)
Fixture: Dar (A), Ess (H), Box (H), Gee (H), Cas (A), WB (H), Ess (A), PM (H), Col (A), Cas (H), Car (A), NM (A), Wil (H), Box (A)
Plays twice: Box Hill Hawks, Casey Demons, Essendon
Summary: Charging through the finals to make the 2022 premiership decider means the Saints have the toughest fixture heading into 2023 under this rating system. They will need to bank early wins with three home games in a row from Rounds 2-4. They have away games in Rounds 5, 7 and 9 against 2022 finalists Casey Demons, Essendon and Collingwood, while three of their last four are on the road.
Difficulty score: 92 (ranked 1st)
Coach: Rhys Cahir (replacing Kirby Bentley)
Last season: 12th (0-14)
Fixture: Cas (N), Box (A), NM (N), PM (A), Gee (A), SS (A), Wil (N), Car (A), Dar (N), Col (N), PM (A), Wil (A), Car (N), Ess (A)
Plays twice: Carlton, Port Melbourne, Williamstown
Summary: Not having Whitten Oval available means the Bulldogs’ bid to climb back from their horror 2022 will be much tougher. They are taking their first game against Casey Demons to Ballarat’s Mars Stadium, with their other six home matches set down for Port Melbourne’s ETU Stadium, including one as the “home” team against the Borough. Playing the Demons and Hawks in the first two weeks looms as a big challenge.
Difficulty score: 96 (ranked 2nd)
Coach: Liam Cavanagh (replacing Penny Cula-Reid)
Last season: 11th (2-11-1)
Fixture: Col (A), NM (A), PM (H), Dar (H), Car (A), Ess (H), WB (N), Cas (H), PM (A), Car (H), Box (A), WB (H), SS (A), Gee (H)
Plays twice: Carlton, Port Melbourne, Western Bulldogs
Summary: Two away games to kick off the season will be a baptism of fire for new coach Liam Cavanagh, but the fixture after that doesn’t look too unfavourable for the Seagulls. They have three of their next four at home and don’t have an away game against a 2022 finalist from Rounds 2-10. They avoid trips to reigning premier Essendon and the two longest journeys to Casey and Geelong.
Difficulty score: 126.5 (ranked equal 10th)
SMITHY'S VFL FIXTURE: See your club's fixture for the 2023 Smithy's VFL season
Broadcast and streaming: All matches in the 2023 Smithy’s VFL and rebel VFLW seasons will be live streamed free via the AFL website (AFL.com.au) and AFL Live Official App. Smithy’s VFL broadcast partner, the Seven Network, will continue to show one weekly game live and free on the Seven Network in Victoria and on 7Plus nationally.
