Expected contending clubs Geelong, Gold Coast and Collingwood have been handed the 'most difficult' fixtures for the 2026 AFL season, while GWS, Port Adelaide and North Melbourne look to have easier draws.
Using each club's 2025 ladder placement, coupled with every run for next year, we have ranked all 18 clubs on the difficulty of their fixture.
The Cats, who come up against Brisbane, Collingwood, Adelaide, Fremantle, Gold Coast nd North on two occasions, have the hardest draw, with the Suns, Magpies, Blues and Bulldogs rounding out the top five.
The Giants are scheduled to play Sydney, St Kilda, Hawthorn, Essendon, Gold Coast and West Coast on multiple occasions, giving them the 'easiest' of fixtures.
Formula: The top team from last year (home and away season) is assigned 18 points. Moving down the table, each team is then assigned one less point, with the team that finished last worth 1 point. Each team's matchups for the season are then combined, with the opponents' points tallied. The tally shows which team has the most difficult draw based on how well teams performed last year.
2026 AFL Fixture Difficulty Ladder
| Difficulty Rating | Top 8 Matchups | |
| Geelong | 231 (Hardest) | 14 |
| Gold Coast | 229 | 13 |
| Collingwood | 227 | 13 |
| Carlton | 226 | 14 |
| Bulldogs | 225 | 13 |
| West Coast | 223 | 13 |
| Essendon | 222 | 13 |
| Brisbane | 220 | 13 |
| Hawthorn | 220 | 13 |
| Melbourne | 218 | 14 |
| Sydney | 218 | 12 |
| Fremantle | 217 | 12 |
| Adelaide | 216 | 13 |
| St Kilda | 215 | 13 |
| Richmond | 211 | 11 |
| North Melbourne | 207 | 12 |
| Port Adelaide | 207 | 12 |
| GWS | 201 (Easiest) | 12 |
