AFL Fixtures and Double Headers
The AFL has confirmed that contentious Friday night double headers will be a feature of the upcoming fixtures. League chief executive Andrew Dillon announced on Monday that the time slots for games in rounds 16 to 22 will be revealed this week. So far, only the matchups for these rounds have been confirmed. By releasing the fixture in sections, the AFL aims to reward teams that are performing well with prime-time slots.
This season, having two games in the high-rating Friday night slot has sparked mixed reactions. However, Dillon is a strong supporter, highlighting that crowds for these games have been robust and television ratings have also been impressive.
“When you look at the free-to-air coverage across the country, with different games being shown in different states … we’ve had more people watching,” he said. “There will be a couple more of those double-headers.”
Another advantage of the Friday night double headers is that they help reduce the likelihood of teams having shorter breaks between games.
“The double-header Fridays give our fixturing team a bit more flexibility … around five-day breaks, six-day breaks,” he explained.
Dillon also mentioned that Thursday nights have been the highest-rated games for the AFL, and these will feature a variety of teams in the next block of fixtures. Sydney and Fremantle, who are currently leading the ladder, are expected to play prominent roles in the highest-rating slots.
“There will be a good spread of Victorian and non-Victorian teams in those prime-time Thursday and Friday night slots,” Dillon stated.
The fixtures for rounds 23 and 24 will be confirmed closer to August, allowing the league more flexibility in maximizing exposure for the best games.
Timekeeping Errors
Meanwhile, the AFL has acknowledged another timekeeping error occurred during Saturday night’s Geelong v Collingwood game. One minute and 49 seconds was mistakenly added to the third quarter after a clock malfunction. Fortunately, this did not affect the outcome, as the Cats won by 54 points.
In a previous incident, nearly half a minute was lost from the round-two game between GWS and St Kilda, which the Giants won by four points. The AFL has since addressed these issues to ensure greater accuracy in future matches.
