Collingwood and Essendon to be rewarded in upcoming fixture announcement

Collingwood and Essendon will today be rewarded by the AFL for their scintillating form when the league releases rounds 16-23 of the fixture.

The Bombers and Magpies will each feature in three of the eight coveted Friday night slots in this window, while Melbourne and Sydney will play in two each.

Commercially, GWS prefer not to play Friday night football, telling the league it prefers Saturday and Saturday night games given that’s when it gets its biggest crowds.

As forecast at the start of the year, Thursday night football will be warehoused until finals, with no games in this timeslot for the remainder of the home-and-away season.

It leaves Friday night as the most lucrative option for clubs, while Carlton has helped turn the Saturday twilight slot into a marquee event.

The Bombers have featured in three Friday night games so far this season, but as the away team each time.

Round 16 will open with a Brisbane-Melbourne clash at the Gabba from 7.40pm, while Round 17 kicks off with a huge Collingwood-Essendon meeting at the MCG at the same time. Round 24 will remain.

The Bombers then have blockbusters to come against Melbourne (Round 18) and Sydney (Round 23), while Collingwood will take on Geelong (Round 18), Carlton (Round 21), Sydney (Round 22) and Brisbane (Round 23).