The AFLW fixture for season 2024 has been revealed, with a Friday night double-header and a plethora of midweek games headlining the ninth rendition of the women’s competition.
Beginning on August 30, the Sydney Swans will host Collingwood at North Sydney Oval from 7:15pm AEST, before the West Coast Eagles welcome Richmond at Mineral Resources Park in Perth two hours later.
Last year’s grand finalists Brisbane and North Melbourne will conclude the week on Sunday September 1 at Brighton Homes Arena, with the match kicking off just after 3pm.
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Eventual victors the Lions will unveil their premiership flag at the match.
In a competition first, 11 matches in the regular season will be played across a 10-week period, meaning the league to each ‘round’ by week, contrary to the traditional format used in previous years.
All 18 clubs will play twice within a one-week period at some stage during the fourth and seventh week of the home-and-away season.
Subsequently, there will be matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday regularly during the middle of the competition – and are perfectly aligned with school holidays across Australia.
“We felt it was important for our fans to maintain the weekend time slot structure we have seen in previous seasons, while also adding an additional game mid-week across the middle of the competition for fans to enjoy,” explained AFL’s head of broadcast operations and scheduling Josh Bowler.
“We consulted a number of key stakeholders in the fixture build including the AFLPA, Clubs and Senior Coaches when determining the most appropriate structure of the season.”
Clubs such as Fremantle, Port Adelaide and Sydney will play back-to-back games in Victoria to try and prevent less travel time in what is an already condensed period.
Only three clubs in the competition avoid a four-day break during the compressed schedule from rounds four to seven.
Much like the mens league, football will return to the ‘Top End’ for Indigenous Round in late October, where Essendon and Richmond will face off on a Saturday night at TIO Stadium in Darwin.
The clash will be the first ever AFLW Dreamtime match in the league’s eight-year history.
Ballarat, Cairns, Canberra, Coffs Harbour and Mackay will also see games played in their town throughout the fixture.
Celebrations for pride will take place in the seventh week of the 2024 competition.