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With five complete rounds of the AFL season left, teams are either gearing up for the finals, fighting for the remaining places in the top eight, or planning for next season.
Round 23 this season will feature several matches involving teams still in finals contention as of the end of Round 18.
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However some top sides will face a team either unlikely or guaranteed not to play in September.
There are also two matches that involve teams currently outside the top eight, with the Greater Western Sydney Giants and Collingwood still with a chance to sneak into September even though they sit 10th and 11th on the ladder respectively.
Taking that into account, my predicted schedule for Round 23 won’t follow the standard format, but rather, one similar to what we saw in Round 6 when there were six matches played Saturday and just two on the Sunday.
Fremantle and the West Coast Eagles are all but certain to finish top two, but as both teams, as well as the Sydney Swans, will play on the previous Sunday, neither could be considered for the Friday night timeslot.
It would have been obvious for the Hawthorn versus Carlton match to be scheduled for Friday night, but after the shocker we were treated to, whereby the Hawks handed the Blues their worst-ever defeat with a 138-point humiliation in Round 17, surely that match wouldn’t be considered for Friday night again.
Instead, I have placed Richmond’s match against North Melbourne in that timeslot. The sticking is that while it is Richmond’s home game, it will be played at Etihad Stadium, which is normally the Roos’ primary home ground. Thus it could give Brad Scott’s men given something of an advantage as they seek to consolidate their place in the eight, having won their last four matches to break into the top half of the ladder for the first time this season.
As the Hawks are likely to finish either third or fourth, their match against Carlton must be the first match scheduled for Saturday afternoon so that they can get the longest break possible ahead of a possible trip to Perth in Week 1 of the finals.
Fremantle, who are currently six points clear of their Western Australia neighbours the West Coast Eagles on the ladder, face Port Adelaide away in the final round; this coming a week after facing Melbourne at home on a Sunday.
As they are likely to finish minor premiers, the Dockers’ match against the Power has been scheduled for Saturday afternoon with a 12:40pm start. The early finish allows Ross Lyon’s men to be back in Perth by nightfall.
The Sydney Swans are also very likely to finish in the top four at season’s end, but as already explained above, their match against the Gold Coast Suns couldn’t be considered for Friday night as they play St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on the Sunday in Round 22. The match wouldn’t have been considered for the timeslot anyway given the Suns’ woeful form this season, and the number of Friday night shockers, most involving Carlton, that we have had to endure this season.
Thus, this match has been scheduled as the twilight match on Saturday with a starting time of 4:35pm, and will follow the Hawthorn versus Carlton match on the television schedule to ensure that the two matches do not overlap.
The finals hopes of the Geelong Cats and Adelaide Crows still remain alive, with both teams equal on points, the Cats eighth and the Crows ninth on percentage (102.4 to 102.2).
Their duel, which could be dubbed the ‘Patrick Dangerfield Cup’ as the Crows’ #32 is likely to move to Simonds Stadium next season as a free agent, will begin at 4:10pm, immediately following the match between Port Adelaide and Fremantle on the television schedule to again ensure that the two matches do not overlap.
Assuming the Crows are still in finals contention by then, the pre-7pm finish would allow them to be back home in Adelaide that same night.
The Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs match had been fixtured for the final round in the anticipation that it would be played on Sunday, given neither club was expected to make the finals in 2015 after a few lean years for both.
However, the Bulldogs’ resurgence this year means that this match must be scheduled for Saturday night, and although Luke Beveridge’s men would have to stay in Brisbane overnight, they should be able to catch the first flight home to Melbourne the following morning.
The one remaining Saturday night match will be played between the West Coast Eagles and St Kilda at Domain Stadium with a starting time of 5:20pm, and free-to-air exposure on Channel Seven.
With the Eagles likely to stay home until possibly the grand final, the club will not have to worry about travelling in at least the first week of the finals series, thus they can start preparing for their finals campaign the following day.
That leaves us with just two matches: Melbourne versus GWS, and Collingwood versus Essendon. As of the end of Round 18, all four sides are 10th or lower on the ladder, with the Giants and the Pies still the faintest of hopes of sneaking into September.
Therefore, the Giants’ match against the Dees at Etihad Stadium must be scheduled for 1:10pm on the Sunday afternoon, with the early start potentially allowing Leon Cameron’s men to be back home in Sydney the same night.
This means that the Collingwood versus Essendon match, which is still expected to draw a moderate crowd despite the recent form woes of both clubs, will be the 3:20pm Channel Seven game.
There will be no twilight match on the Sunday to conclude the regular season.
Thus, this is how Round 23 should pan out (all local times):
(Values in parentheses denotes the channels on which a game will be televised, in order to avoid clashes between matches; FF stands for Fox Footy.)
Friday, September 4
Richmond versus North Melbourne, Etihad Stadium, 7:50pm (Seven, FF 503)
Saturday, September 5
Hawthorn versus Carlton, MCG, 1:45pm (Seven, FF 503)
Port Adelaide versus Fremantle, Adelaide Oval, 12:40pm (FF 504)
Sydney Swans versus Gold Coast Suns, SCG, 4:35pm (FF 503)
Geelong Cats versus Adelaide Crows, Simonds Stadium, 4:10pm (FF 504)
Brisbane Lions versus Western Bulldogs, Gabba, 7:20pm (FF 503)
West Coast Eagles versus St Kilda, Domain Stadium, 5:20pm (Seven, FF 504)
Sunday, September 6
Melbourne versus GWS Giants, Etihad Stadium, 1:10pm (FF 503)
Collingwood versus Essendon, MCG, 3:20pm (Seven, FF 504)
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