Rogue AFL fixture looms as finals-deciding clash

Perth Now

5 days ago

With Gold Coast's postponed match against Essendon looming as an increasingly pivotal part of the AFL top-four race, an announcement on the timing of the rogue fixture is imminent.
The opening-round clash on the Gold Coast was postponed because of Tropical Cyclone Alfred and rescheduled to the end of the season, rather than for either club's bye week.
There have been reports the stray game could be played on the Wednesday between round 24 and the pre-finals bye.
Now at the pointy end of the season, the Suns' and Bombers' vastly contrasting fortunes means the game could play a crucial role leading into what looms as Gold Coast's first finals series.
The eighth-placed Suns (48 points) are four points ahead of the Western Bulldogs but four behind fourth-placed Geelong, who are on 52 points along with Hawthorn, GWS and Fremantle, but Gold Coast have a game in hand.
The injury-ravaged 15th-placed Bombers are on an eight-game losing streak, and up against it to win another game this year.
It means a likely - and potentially percentage-boosting - win for Gold Coast could be what launches the Suns into the top four.
"That's the last fixture, so that's the final part of flexing the fixture," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said on Tuesday.
"So we're working through that at the moment,
"I reckon we'll be making an announcement on that in the next week or so."
Dillon was speaking ahead of the AFL's industry summit, which included representatives from all clubs, including Tasmania.
He acknowledged the gulf in quality between the AFL's top nine and bottom nine this season, but considered it an anomaly.
"There is a bit of a gap," he said.
"But I think what's really pleasing for some is you look at the top eight or nine this year with four teams that have come from outside to inside.
"You often get anomalous seasons. Last year, we were at 13 or 14 teams in it right to the end. This year's a little bit different
"What we do have is an incredibly tight competition at the pointy end."
The league has come under criticism for Essendon and Carlton continuing to play in prime timeslots despite their decline in fortunes.
"Maybe this year's just a bit of an outlier in terms of the teams that were selected earlier on, some big Victorian teams who were in pretty solid form at the time the floating fixture was put in, that hasn't come to fruition," Dillon said.
"But again, the games are still rating pretty well, they're still pretty well attended, but we'll take on board feedback from fans and broadcasters and our clubs as we look to the 2026 fixture."
Dillon said the league needed to strike a balance between ensuring the fixture was flexible, while also looking after the fans.
He was "really confident" the Tasmanian expansion club would be ready for the 2028 season, but stressed their licence was dependent on the building of the roofed 23,000-capacity stadium at Macquarie Point.