The schedule for Round 23 of the 2018 AFL season was announced earlier today, with several games set to have massive ramifications on the makeup of this year’s finals series.
With plenty of teams still in contention for a spot in September, the complexion of the eight may not be known until the final siren goes on Sunday afternoon, with Melbourne set to take on GWS in the 3:20pm game and Sydney to play Hawthorn in a blockbuster Saturday night clash.
Despite winning just two games so far this season, Carlton have been rewarded with the other prime-time Saturday night slot against the Adelaide Crows in a move that has angered many fans.
The Swans-Hawks game will be shown around the country on free-to-air TV, with the exception of Adelaide where the Crows-Blues game will be broadcast. With both the Swans and Hawks currently sitting on 44 points, a loss could see either side slip out of finals contention.
The Friday night time slot was given to Port Adelaide, who host an Essendon side who may still be competing for a spot in the top eight.
There will be three other games played on Saturday. The first sees Geelong look to consolidate their position in the finals when they take on recent giant-killers the Gold Coast Suns.
Richmond will then aim to wrap up the minor premiership when they host the Bulldogs while Collingwood may have to overcome Fremantle in a bid to confirm their spot in the top four.
The first of Sunday’s games will see the second-placed West Coast Eagles given the perfect opportunity to head into the finals with plenty of confidence as they travel to face the lowly Brisbane Lions.
The final fixture of the regular season sees St Kilda look to restore pride against North Melbourne, who may still be pushing for a spot in September.
| Date | Home v Away | Venue | Time |
| Fri Aug 24 | Port Adelaide vs Essendon | Adelaide Oval | 7:50 PM |
| Sat Aug 25 | Geelong Cats vs Gold Coast Suns | GMHBA Stadium | 1:45 PM |
| Sat Aug 25 | Richmond vs Western Bulldogs | MCG | 1:45 PM |
| Sat Aug 25 | Fremantle vs Collingwood | Perth Stadium | 4:35 PM |
| Sat Aug 25 | Sydney Swans vs Hawthorn | SCG | 7:25 PM |
| Sat Aug 25 | Carlton vs Adelaide Crows | Etihad Stadium | 7:25 PM |
| Sun Aug 26 | Brisbane Lions vs West Coast Eagles | Gabba | 1:10 PM |
| Sun Aug 26 | Melbourne vs GWS Giants | MCG | 3:20 PM |
| Sun Aug 26 | St Kilda vs North Melbourne | Etihad Stadium | 4:40 PM |
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Carlton v Adelaide will not be on Free to Air TV (except in Adelaide)! Shows what a ratings success they are.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Yeh - a bit like Leigh Mathews and Malcolm Blight!
Macca
Guest
If you are going to repeat rubbish you have to take responsibility for it. Just logically it was clearly nonsense but when you consider where it came from someone is obviously having a laugh.
Penster
Roar Guru
Yep, me too, I've booked a weekend away on the basis I could catch the game at the SCG on the Friday night then head off. First world problems but ........... groan.
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
I heard a rumour Eddie and Buckley were swapping jobs.
Joe B
Guest
Nah... I have no idea what you meant. Not to worry, we are all capable of saying silly things.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Just on a Pies fan forum Macca not saying it's gospel.
Charlie
Guest
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! Nothing guarantees success more than a champion player taking over the reins with minimal coaching experience. For example Tony Shaw, James Hird, Michael Voss, Justin Leppitsch, just to name a few. Hang on a minute...
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Not my rumour Macca, I gather you wouldn't be a fan of it?
Reservoir Animal
Guest
Nice attempt at comedy there Joe. I think deep down you know what I'm getting at. I'll wait for Anon to reply.
Joe B
Guest
Nooooo! The Bledisloe kicks off an hour after Freo v Coll starts... finally get a Saturday game, and it clashes with rugby. Bugger.
Joe B
Guest
Given the current form of Sydney and Hawthorn, this game looks like it will easily go Hawks way... the Melbourne v GWS game looks like the more interesting game deserving of a prime time fta slot. I am happy Freo finally gets a game on Saturday at home.
Joe B
Guest
"Victorian rivalries run far deeper than the West Coast-Freo or Adelaide-Port rivalry" Seriously, you know this for certain? So your suggesting that every player and supporter of a club has been assessed on their sense of rivalry towards other clubs, and the sense of rivalry was "deeper" between vic clubs. WOW! You are amazing! Did you run any other polls concurrently? What type of metrics did you use to determine 'rivalry deepness'? Did you use one of those measures that you see stuck in the ground of a river bed to indicate water depth?
Macca
Guest
Peter - spreading that "rumour" really hurts your ability to be taken seriously. Mitchell doesn't even have a full year of coaching experience behind him and you think the blues will put him in above Bolton?! Get real.
Wise Old Elf
Guest
Good news, half of Australia now will have a reason to watch when the Blues are playing. There is a reason they keep getting on the box, RATINGS! A large chunk of Oz loves Carlton the other section hate them. Whereas a North Melbourne, a Hawthorn, a Bulldogs. zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Noone gives a toot.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Rumour doing the rounds = Sam Mitchell targeted as senior coach with Bolton stepping down to assistant. Probably a pretty good move for the Blues.
mrrexdog
Roar Guru
Why do they even delay the release of the round 23 fixture? Given that that there’s a byebefore the finals, why not just announce it with rest of the fixture in October?
Reservoir Animal
Guest
Haha. There seems to be an assumption among you non-Victorians that all of us here in Melbourne worship either Eddie McGuire, James Hird or John Elliott. Unfortunately there are many who do, but you need to stop assuming that Victorians are somehow united in these pro-Carlton attitudes or anything similar. Victorian rivalries run far deeper than the West Coast-Freo or Adelaide-Port rivalry.
Timewaster
Guest
Whos outraged? It's a game in the shadow of Hawks-Swans. Fake news, and a poor article
Jed Lanyon
Roar Rookie
As long as it's not on prime time TV again it's all good