Remainder of the 2024 fixture revealed by the AFL

The remainder of the 2024 AFL fixture has been released.

Rounds 16 to 23 are locked in, with Round 24 to remain floating, and there will be no Thursday night footy (presumably) until finals commence.

Essendon has been rewarded for its good recent form and will play three times on Friday nights, along with reigning premiers Collingwood who have also been given three. Melbourne and Sydney (twice each) are the only other clubs with multiple Friday night fixtures.

Brisbane v Melbourne (Round 16), Collingwood v Essendon (Round 17) and Collingwood v Geelong (Round 18 - which could be Scott Pendlebury’s 400th game) kickstart a nice run of Friday night fixtures, which includes a double header in Round 21.

Marvel Stadium will host four Friday night matches, there’ll be two at the MCG, one at the Gabba, one at Optus Stadium and one at the SCG.

There are some quality fixtures in the Saturday twilight (4:35pm AEST) time slot, which the AFL has prioritised. It includes a reprise of the 2023 Grand Final between Collingwood v Brisbane in Round 23.

The Saturday template is generally made up of two fixtures commencing between 1:15pm and 1:45pm AEST, the 4:35pm slot and then two night games with start times varying from 7pm to 7:30pm AEST. One of those is Collingwood v Carlton at the MCG.

Richmond and Hawthorn will play five times on a Sunday, a day that will host the Blues on four occasions as well as Brisbane, St Kilda and West Coast.

The AFL’s Head of Broadcast Operations and Scheduling, Josh Bowler, says the league has opted to reward well-performing teams while providing an abundance of blockbusters for the fans who have been showing up in droves so far in 2024.

“It has been a thrilling start to the 2024 season, great footy, big games, big events, setting us up for one of the great seasons on record,” Mr Bowler said.

“Fans have turned up in record numbers and we are set up for an electrifying second half of the season.

“We have big competitive match ups in the marquee slots, including a string of blockbuster Friday night games heading into finals.

“Although there are no further Thursday night matches this season, as we transition to new broadcast arrangements in 2025, we will look to continue to build on the growth and success we saw this season having already delivered 14 in a row.”

Some key points from the new fixture release:

• Essendon and Collingwood rewarded with three Friday night fixtures.
• Richmond and Hawthorn to play five Sunday matches. Carlton to play four.
• Nine Friday night matches from Round 16 to 23.
• Saturday twilight (4:35pm AEST) to feature in each round.
• Five Saturday matches per round, apart from Round 21 when there are two Friday fixtures.
• Three Sunday matches on each weekend from Round 16 to 23.

The AFL will announce ticketing in due course.

See the fixture below: