The Western Bulldogs have been rewarded for their strong start to the 2025 season with a swathe of prime time matches, with the AFL releasing the fixture for Rounds 16-23.
As with previous AFL seasons, the first 15 rounds of the season, plus Opening Round, were locked in late last year, with remaining games set but not scheduled as part of a ‘floating fixture’.
All but Round 24 of the season has now been confirmed, with the sixth-placed Bulldogs featuring on Thursday or Friday night in five of six weeks between Rounds 16 and 21.
Adding to three upcoming Thursday night games against Geelong, Hawthorn and St Kilda, and Luke Beveridge’s team will dominate prime time for the rest of the season.
The Bulldogs have also had their Round 18 clash with Adelaide moved from Ballarat’s Mars Stadium to Marvel Stadium, amid criticism of the club playing matches there while vast sections of the ground remain under construction.
Less than 5,000 spectators attended the Bulldogs’ recent win over Port Adelaide, with former player Bailey Smith even taking a cheeky dig at the paltry attendance during a post-match interview.
Carlton also have a run of marquee matches, with the Blues playing on Thursday or Friday night four out of five times between Rounds 16 and 20.
Even Gold Coast have been granted their first ever home Friday night match in their 15th AFL season, with the Suns to host Collingwood in Round 18.
Thursday night matches will continue with the exception of Round 23, with the league expected to launch the AFLW season on Thursday, August 14.
Round 20 also is set to serve as a Rivalry Round for non-Victorian clubs, with GWS and Sydney squaring off in the first ever Friday night Sydney Derby, while Gold Coast and Brisbane, Fremantle and West Coast and Adelaide and Port Adelaide also lock horns.
The Showdown has, however, been once again scheduled for Saturday night, with a request from the Crows and Power to play the match in a marquee timeslot rejected.
Friday night double-headers have also returned, with Rounds 17, 20 and 23 all seeing two matches played that evening.
For the first time in years, a home-and-away match has been scheduled for 2:10pm on Sunday afternoon, long seen as the prime viewing time for attending supporters, when Richmond face Collingwood at the MCG.
