The fixture difficulty of ALL 18 clubs rated and ranked ahead of the 2027 season

The fixture for the 2027 AFL season has been released, with all 24 rounds, six double-ups per team, and fierce rivalry match-ups officially scheduled.

But what does that mean for your team, and how hard is your side's 2027 season expected to be?

It is difficult to ascertain exactly which sides have the rough end of the stick given how much rival clubs' performances can fluctuate between seasons. Just look at Gold Coast and Melbourne from 2025-26 as examples of how teams can unexpectedly rise and fall within a few months.

Like most predictions, reading the draw and ranking who got the easiest and the hardest fixtures is a fickle business.

Fortunately, at Zero Hanger we have developed a system to rate each club and its fixture difficulty with specific rules and reasoning behind its deliberation.

West Coast finished in 16th spot in 2026, but its 2027 fixture has been rated the second hardest. And while that is partly due to the Eagles' poor performances, the system rated 17th-placed Richmond's fixture as being the easiest across the whole league.

Three-time reigning premier Brisbane (fourth hardest) has been understandably handed one of the most difficult draws along with its Preliminary Final adversary Hawthorn (third).

However, the same can't be said for fellow Grand Finalist Fremantle, which has the fourth easiest fixture in 2027.

Meanwhile, fellow contenders Geelong (third easiest) and Sydney (second) have been equally fortunate with how the football gods have shone down on them.

The full table and clarification of the rules behind the system are listed below:

"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 one point.

"Each team's match-ups 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."

AFL fixture difficulty table