Congested AFLW fixture scrapped for next season as night grand final revealed

The AFL has scrapped the contentious congested AFLW fixture for next season, confirming the unpopular compressed period will not feature in the 12-game, 12-week 2025 season.

The league has also scheduled the competition’s first night-time grand final at the conclusion of the finals series starting this weekend as an “experiment” that will amplify discussion about the timing of the daytime men’s showpiece.

The congested fixture was largely unpopular and was cited as the cause of dour play and increased risk of injury. AFL head of football Laura Kane said the decision was made based on the feedback the league had received from players, staff, fans, venues and broadcast partners.

“It related to the on-field product and what the players and club staff were feeling,” she said. “There was some good stuff in there, around weekdays, around particular time slots, around exposure to footy on nights when there otherwise wasn’t any games. But on balance, the feedback was players wanting more space between each game.”

The AFL has moved to schedule the grand final in a night-time slot for the first time in a move that breaks with tradition. Last year’s decider between North Melbourne and Brisbane was held at Ikon Park on a Sunday at 2.30pm.

“Our number one focus is growth,” Kane said. “We’ve been looking at what are the best time slots to encourage people to watch, what are the best time slots to get people in attendance.”

The grand final venue is yet to be confirmed, and could still be held in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth depending on how the finals play out. If Fremantle win the right to host the game, it will be played in twilight local time, but at night for audiences on the east coast.

Kane said it had been a positive season, although the average attendance of around 2,500 fell short of the 6,000 required by the collective bargaining agreement to trigger an extension of the season from 12 to 14 games.

“We were up in every metric, crowds, broadcast numbers and games, and I think the growth that we all want to see and work so hard to see in [AFLW] has been on display this year,” Kane said.

The 2020 men’s grand final, hosted in Queensland, was played at night while the 2021 men’s decider in Western Australia was played at twilight, but at night for eastern audiences.

Kane said this decision was different to the Covid era, and although there are no direct implications for the timing of the men’s grand final, it will likely lead to broader discussions.

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“This is different, this is an experiment, this takes into account really clear growth metrics and inputs,” she said. “Here, we have an opportunity to do things differently, we don’t have the same history, we have a different proposition, a different product, and we think that we can do things to mix it up a little bit, but I don’t expect that question [the timing of the men’s grand final] to slow now in particular.”

Kane also confirmed they have been considering introducing more double headers with the men’s season next year as the league continues to pursue growth.

“We’re working at the moment now on what does the future look like in terms of double headers, double headers at the same venue, double headers in terms of TV broadcast time slots, or double headers in close proximity, so think Punt Road to the MCG.”

The highest crowd of the season was 23,000, for the double header at the MCG between Port Adelaide and Western Bulldogs.

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