The AFL has confirmed the fixture for the 2027 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
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The fixture announcement includes scheduling for Round 1 through to Round 16. Match ups and venues have also been confirmed for Rounds 17 to 24, with floating dates and start times for matches played in the final eight rounds.
Building on a 2026 season that produced record attendance and viewership, the fixture for the 2027 Toyota AFL Premiership Season will provide fans with even greater opportunity to attend and watch more football.
The 24-round fixture is filled with blockbuster matches, rivalry clashes and marquee events right across the country and will showcase many of the best games in the biggest timeslots.
And with more matches scheduled in clear air and fewer byes, fans can engage with the game even more closely than ever before.
As confirmed earlier this week, the 2027 Toyota AFL Premiership Season will commence with all 18 clubs featuring in a nine-game Round 1 that will see matches hosted in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria from Wednesday 17 March to Sunday 21 March.
Round 2 will be played throughout the Easter weekend, with matches again scheduled across five days. This will allow footy fans to enjoy action across 10 of the opening 13 days of the 2027 season.
Reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions will play their first home game of the season on Easter Thursday when they host Collingwood at the GABBA, with the Magpies' line-up set to feature three-time premiership Lion Lachie Neale. The Lions will this year be looking to join Collingwood as the only club in VFL/AFL history to have won four successive premierships.
North Melbourne takes on Carlton in the annual SuperClash at Marvel Stadium on Good Friday, before Fremantle hosts the Adelaide Crows at Optus Stadium that night. The round concludes with the annual Easter Monday blockbuster between the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn at the MCG.
Round 3 is headlined by the first Sydney Derby of the season, with the Sydney Swans hosting the GWS GIANTS at the SCG on Friday night. That clash features among the first of four Friday night double-headers during the first 16 rounds, with Carlton vs Brisbane Lions at Marvel Stadium also scheduled on Friday 2 April.
All 18 clubs descend on South Australia in Round 4 for Gather Round, with this year’s festival of football to be played across four days from Thursday 8 April to Sunday 11 April, coinciding with school holidays across the country. The nine matches will be played across Adelaide Oval, Norwood Oval and Barossa Park.
ANZAC Appeal Round will be played during Round 6, commencing with the Gold Coast SUNS hosting Hawthorn on Thursday night, with the annual ANZAC Eve match between Melbourne and Richmond to be played at the MCG on Saturday night.
Three matches will be played on ANZAC Day, beginning with the GWS GIANTS hosting the Western Bulldogs at Corroboree Group Oval Manuka in the first game on Sunday. The traditional clash between Collingwood and Essendon at the MCG will be played during the afternoon, followed by Fremantle hosting St Kilda that night in their annual Len Hall Tribute game.
Sir Doug Nicholls Round will be celebrated across Rounds 9 and 10, with the marquee Dreamtime at the ‘G match between Richmond and Essendon to be played on Friday of Round 9.
It will be the first of two meetings between the clubs, who will also clash at Optus Stadium in the inaugural Dreamtime at Maali match in Round 16, coinciding with NAIDOC Week.
Round 10 will feature the annual Marngrook match at the SCG, with the Sydney Swans hosting Hawthorn, before Sir Doug Nicholls Round concludes with the Gold Coast SUNS hosting Carlton at Darwin’s TIO Stadium on Sunday evening.
The five-week finals series will begin with the two Wildcard Finals starting in the first week of September. The 2027 Toyota AFL Grand Final will be held on Saturday 2 October.
Following the success of the AFL and AFLW double-headers during the 2026 campaign, next year's AFLW season timing has been considered and built together with the AFL fixture. Further details on the 2027 NAB AFLW season will be announced in coming weeks.
Additional highlights of the 2027 Toyota AFL Premiership Season fixture include:
- No byes during Rounds 1-10, with the 2027 season to contain four fewer rounds with byes than last year. Every club will have played the same number of games at the completion of each of the first 10 rounds, ensuring a ladder that truly reflects the standings throughout the start to the season.
- Thursday night football to be a showcase every week across Rounds 1 to 16, with matches to be hosted in all major markets. Last year’s grand finalists Fremantle (six matches) and the Brisbane Lions (four) headline the Thursday night timeslot.
- The first Sydney Derby, Showdown and Western Derby will each be played on a Friday night. Each match will feature as part of a Friday night double-header with a match in another state.
- Sunday night football to feature prominently, with a match scheduled in the timeslot in each of the opening 13 rounds, anchored by a public holiday or marquee matches where possible. To create clear air across matches on Sundays, the start time of the early game will be 12:30pm AEST, with the exception of Rounds 1 and 6.
- Every Thursday and Friday night match throughout the five bye rounds (Rounds 11 to 15) will feature two finalists from the 2026 season going head-to-head.
- Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast SUNS will clash at the GABBA on Saturday 5 June during Round 12, coinciding with the weekend of Queensland Day.
- Brisbane Lions and Fremantle to meet in two Grand Final rematches throughout the home and away season. The Dockers will host the first clash at Optus Stadium on Sunday night in Round 8, with the return clash scheduled at the GABBA on Thursday night in Round 16. Both matches will be broadcast on Seven, 7plus, Kayo Sports, Foxtel and Binge nationally.
- Two matches to be played in the Northern Territory, with Melbourne to host the Adelaide Crows at TIO Traeger Park in Round 7, while the Gold Coast SUNS and Carlton meet at TIO Stadium in Round 10
- AFL action returns to Mars Stadium with the Western Bulldogs to host two matches in Ballarat against the Gold Coast SUNS (Round 7) and GWS GIANTS (Round 20).
- Matches to also return to Canberra, Bunbury, Hobart and Launceston.
AFL Chief Operating Officer Tom Harley said:
“We are coming off the biggest AFL season in our history, with record attendance and viewership, and the 2027 Toyota AFL Premiership Season fixture will continue to give fans the best opportunity to watch the best matches in marquee timeslots.
“Our fans are incredibly passionate, and the fixture will allow fans to get to the footy, watch games and engage with the game at record levels again in 2027.”
AFL Head of Broadcasting, Scheduling & Venues Lauren Cranstoun said:
“The release of the fixture always creates a lot of excitement and we are thrilled to deliver our fans a fixture that will start the 2027 season with a bang and continue that momentum throughout the year.
“The first three matches of the season feature the top-four teams from 2026 in primetime standalone fixtures. We’ve worked to ensure that Thursday and Friday nights feature big match-ups to launch every round, while every Saturday night for the first half of the season features a finalist from 2026.
“From the first week of the season, to Easter in Round 2, Gather Round in Round 4, ANZAC Appeal Round in Round 6, and Sir Doug Nicholls Round in Rounds 9 and 10, we have an enormous start to the season in store for footy fans in 2027.
“The addition of regular Sunday night football and an earlier start of the first match each Sunday also creates more opportunity for fans to watch more matches of footy in clear air without overlap.
“Throughout the fixturing process we have worked closely with our clubs and key stakeholders, including venues and broadcast partners, Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Seven and 7plus, and thank them for their ongoing support.”