The AFL is pleased to announce the fixture for the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
Opening Round through to Round 15 have today been released fully fixtured, while Rounds 16 to 24 remain floating with match ups and venues confirmed.
The 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season will officially begin at the SCG on Thursday, 5 March when the Sydney Swans take on Carlton before heading north to People First Stadium the next day where the Gold Coast SUNS will play Geelong, on Friday, 6 March.
The GWS GIANTS will host Hawthorn on Saturday, 7 March at ENGIE Stadium in a Saturday twilight fixture before reigning Premiers, the Brisbane Lions, will unfurl their flag when they play the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Saturday night.
For the first time, Opening Round will feature a match in Victoria when St Kilda host Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday night ahead of the state’s Monday Labour Day public holiday.
Round One kicks off four nights later with the traditional Thursday match-up between Carlton and Richmond at the MCG on 12 March before we return to the MCG on Friday night where Essendon will take on Hawthorn.
Marvel Stadium will play host to the Western Bulldogs and the GWS GIANTS on Saturday afternoon ahead of a twilight match between the Geelong Cats and Fremantle at GMHBA, before the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions face off at the SCG and the Adelaide Crows travel to the MCG to play Collingwood in the evening.
North Melbourne begins its season on Sunday afternoon at Marvel Stadium when they battle it out against Port Adelaide and Melbourne will kick start its season against St Kilda at the MCG. The Gold Coast SUNS and the West Coast Eagles will complete Round One at People First Stadium in the Sunday night slot.
Thursday and Friday nights continue to be the marquee match ups with Geelong featuring in eight primetime slots (four Thursday night and four Friday night matches) across the first 15 rounds.
The Adelaide Crows will play in five Thursday night games while Carlton and Hawthorn have four each. The Western Bulldogs will feature in four Friday night matches.
The Brisbane Lions will host Collingwood at the Gabba on Thursday night to kick off Easter weekend, ahead of the SuperClash match between North Melbourne and Carlton on Good Friday. Hawthorn and Geelong close out the round on Easter Monday afternoon at the MCG.
The Sydney Swans will play the GWS GIANTS in their first derby on the Friday night of Round Six as part of a Friday night double header where Geelong will also play the Western Bulldogs at GMHBA.
The first derby in the west will take place on Sunday afternoon of Round Six when the West Coast Eagles host Fremantle at Optus Stadium.
ANZAC Round will take place in Round Seven with the traditional ANZAC Eve match between Richmond and Melbourne on Friday night. ANZAC Day will be a momentous occasion with four matches scheduled – Hawthorn vs Gold Coast SUNS (University of Tasmania Stadium), Essendon vs Collingwood (MCG), Port Adelaide vs Geelong Cats (Adelaide Oval) and Fremantle vs Carlton (Optus Stadium).
The first ‘showdown’ will take place in Round Eight when the Crows host Port Adelaide on a Friday night. It’s the second match of a double header with the Western Bulldogs also lining up against Fremantle at Marvel Stadium.
Sir Doug Nicholls Round will begin with a Grand Final rematch between the Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats at the Gabba on Thursday night. Darwin’s TIO stadium will again celebrate Indigenous Round as the Gold Coast SUNS take on Port Adelaide on Friday night with the Sydney Swans also hosting Collingwood at the SCG as part of a Friday night double header.
Dreamtime at the ‘G will again be a Friday night marquee matchup in Round 11 between Richmond and Essendon ahead of Fremantle playing St Kilda at Optus Stadium later that evening.
King’s Birthday falls in Round Thirteen and will see the first QClash of the season when Gold Coast host Brisbane on Saturday afternoon on Queensland Day. The King’s Birthday weekend will also feature a double header on the Eve of the public holiday when the Sydney Swans play St Kilda at the SCG in the afternoon before Essendon and Carlton face off at the MCG in the evening. The action then returns to the MCG for the traditional Big Freeze game between Collingwood and Melbourne on Monday.
Games will also return to Canberra, Bunbury, Alice Springs, Hobart and Launceston as the AFL continues to take games to as many places and fans as possible.
The bye rounds will take place over Rounds 12 to 16 and will feature at least seven games on each weekend. No team who has had two byes (due to Opening Round) will play against a team who hasn’t had their bye yet.
AFL Head of Strategy and Scheduling Josh Bowler said he was delighted to release the first part of the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership fixture.
“We know there is always anticipation when it comes to releasing the Toyota AFL Premiership fixture and on behalf of the AFL, I’m pleased to confirm games from Opening Round through to Round 15 have been locked in for 2026,” Bowler said.
“This fixture aims to build momentum throughout the year and gives fans consistency to help strengthen rituals and traditions at games with family and friends, as well as building on the success of Sunday nights.
“Footy continues to grow strongly in Queensland and New South Wales, with all four clubs in those states achieving record membership numbers and community participation continuing to rise.
“Both Queensland and New South Wales had record participation numbers this year with Queensland now sitting second in the country for AFL participation trailing only Victoria.
“Friday night double headers feature five times across the first half of the season which will maximise attendance and kickstart the weekend of footy.
“We are excited to have a slate of marquee Thursday and Friday night matches with a great mix of clubs involved.
“Taking on fan feedback, for the first time a standalone Opening Round match will be played at the MCG on the Sunday night of Labour Day long weekend in Melbourne – which will kick start the Premiership Season in Victoria, ahead of the traditional Thursday night Tigers vs Blues match up four nights later.
“Round One also features several blockbuster matchups as all 18 clubs start their quest for the 2026 Toyota Premiership.
“We have worked closely with and thank all our clubs and industry stakeholders, including venues and broadcast partners, Seven, Foxtel and Kayo, as well as being assisted by our scheduling software provider Fastbreak AI, who were involved in building the fixture.”