AFL bets on Sunday nights as overlapping matches are scrapped

October 29, 2026 — 6:00am

Sunday night football will become a feature of the AFL fixture in 2027, with a match to be played in the timeslot in each of the first 13 rounds for the first time.

The overlapping of Sunday matches that impacted viewer satisfaction at times this year will be removed, giving fans the chance to end their weekends watching three AFL matches back-to-back-to-back.

In all but rounds one and six, the first game each Sunday will start at 12.30pm, leading into a 3.15pm match and then finishing with a night game, which is defined as starting after 6pm.

Next year’s fixture marks an increase from eight Sunday night matches in the first 13 rounds in 2026, with four of the matches to be played at Marvel Stadium and one at the MCG.

When possible, the AFL has attempted to anchor the Sunday night fixtures to public holidays in the states where they are played, with two of the biggest such games reserved for Easter Sunday and the night before the King’s Birthday public holiday.

The extension of Sunday night football means nine matches will be broadcast each round on four nights of the week from Thursday to Sunday.

Marvel Stadium co-tenants the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda will clash at Marvel Stadium on Easter Sunday in round two, presenting the Saints with a tough opening to their critical 2027 season (matches against Collingwood and the Bulldogs). Luke Beveridge’s men will also be coming off a tough round one clash against the Dockers in Perth.

Essendon and Carlton will again meet on King’s Birthday eve in a match that has been locked into the fixture since 2023. Each of the four previous matches in that timeslot have attracted crowds of more than 70,000 to the MCG.

In round one, the Sunday night clash will occur when West Coast host Gold Coast in Perth in the afternoon local time, a game that will be beamed back into the eastern states on a Sunday evening.

Port Adelaide will host the Western Bulldogs as Zak Butters returns to Adelaide Oval in the red, white and blue on Sunday night during Gather Round.

Six of the eight matches played on Sunday nights in the opening 13 rounds in 2026 were played outside Victoria, but the removal of Opening Round means that nine matches will occur in each round during most of the early rounds of the season.

The AFL’s first attempt to regularly lock Sunday nights into the fixture stalled after a night match in the middle of winter in 2014 between Carlton and Collingwood attracted just 40,939 fans.

The backlash to the six-match trial made the league gun shy about adopting the timeslot, particularly in Victoria, but they have been slowly building the number of games played then since 2025 – with careful programming in place to ensure attendances at the matches reflect the enthusiasm of television viewers.

The addition to the competition of the Tasmania Devils in 2028 could lead to each team playing 24 matches each home-and-away season, up from 23.

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