The AFL unveiled the full fixture for the 2026 season on Thursday afternoon and left in its wake a trail of outrage, with fans questioning some of the decisions made by those in charge.
One call that confused many was the reigning premiers' lack of primetime fixtures, with the Brisbane Lions securing just three Thursday and Friday night slots before Round 16 following its second consecutive premiership.
Speaking with media on Thursday, AFL head of strategy and scheduling Josh Bowler admitted the outcome was not ideal but highlighted that Brisbane's run home, which includes four finalists from 2025, and 2024 runners up Sydney, sets them up for marquee slots later in the year.
"There is always one club who you probably sit there and say you'd like to get a few more games in," Bowler said.
"But Brisbane are in Opening Round and have a marquee game, playing a Thursday Grand Final rematch against Geelong.
"They've got a pretty strong run home, so we expect to see more from Brisbane in the back part of the fixture."
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Another point of frustration was the AFL's commitment to serving up Friday night double-headers, with six to occur before Round 12.
However, Bowler is a firm believer that the clashing fixtures do not detract from each other, given they all take place in different markets.
"Friday night double headers are a really good opportunity to create additional primetime marquee games in markets across Australia," Bowler explauned.
"What we're doing is we're taking a Sunday game overlapping with another and maximising crowds by putting it on a Friday night. We don't do it every round but we do when there's strategic value.
"For example, we've got two local derbies on Friday nights, we've got one less game on Mother's Day and launch Sir Doug Nicholls Round in a really strong way with double headers.
"We use them where they make sense. Whether it's a fan outcome to provide a primetime game for a local market, but also to manage days break between games. It unlocks additional Thursday night matches and increases the quality of those.
"It increases attraction, not detracts. Each local market gets to see teams where their main fanbases are built around."
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Why does Brisbane not get the stand-alones (that generate so much revenue for a select few vic clubs)?
…….. because the idea that such stand-alone games are a “reward” for results is a myth (deception) and Brisbane is not a select victorian club.
When Brisbane do get the Thursday/Friday timeslots (normally the “standalone” slots) – guess who they play……….. I would suggest the timeslot is not about Brisbane having a standalone game.
The purposeful conflation of “marquee game” and “important or consequential game” by J Bowler is important to notice.
Double headers….. it would be interesting to see who these affect….. Does Collingwood, for example, have to “share” it’s stand-alones with any other game?
Does Carlton?
Does Essendon?
Does Richmond?