The AFL today said it had written to clubs and key stakeholders within the game to begin the work on the construction of the fixture for the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

AFL General Manager Clubs Travis Auld said it was expected the fixture would be completed and then released in late October 2017, as per the schedule of recent seasons.

Mr Auld said the AFL was still determining the structure for the season but was working within the following key dates as follows:

Toyota AFL Premiership Season – Round 1
Thursday 22 March 2018
Easter
Thursday 29 March – Monday 2 April 2018
ANZAC Day Round
Friday April 20 – Wednesday 25 April 2018
Queen’s Birthday Round
Monday 11 June 2018
Toyota AFL Grand Final
Saturday 29 September 2018


A standard round, as part of the AFL’s agreement with the Seven Network and FOXTEL/Fox Sports, will continue to feature one Friday night match, two Saturday afternoon matches, one Saturday twilight match, two Saturday night matches, one early Sunday match, one Sunday afternoon match and one Sunday twilight match. The number of Thursday night matches is likely to be similar to the number played in 2017, with their placement within the fixture still to be determined.

Mr Auld said the AFL has written to key stakeholders – clubs / AFLPA / stadia partners / broadcasters / government – in relation to the fixture production to outline the primary considerations for the AFL and to seek their input. Other considerations for the AFL include: AFL and AFL Club contractual obligations with stadia; Player welfare issues; Travel considerations for Clubs; Maximising attendances; Continuation of “blockbuster” and “themed” matches; Balancing the number of match-ups between top and bottom-placed Clubs and Expansion market objectives.