Melbourne will stage its own “Mini Gather Round” on the penultimate weekend of the home and away season, while wildcard weekend’s impact on the traditional grandstand finish to Round 24 has been laid bare.

The AFL on Wednesday confirmed the dates and start times for Rounds 23 and 24 of the men’s season, while also releasing further details of the first two AFLW rounds. See the fixtures below!

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All home and away games will be live on Fox Footy — via Foxtel and Kayo Sports — with Fox Footy commentary and graphics available on every match. Fox Footy remains the home of Super Saturday LIVE.

A key feature of Round 23 will be a bumper slate of Melbourne games featuring six Victorian clubs on Saturday August 15, including a historic MCG double-header.

Super Saturday will begin at 12.35pm (AEST) with the Richmond-St Kilda clash at the MCG. Attention will then turn to Marvel Stadium for the North Melbourne-Geelong clash at 3.45pm before the MCG hosts a rare second game on the same day: Hawthorn against Collingwood at 7.40pm, which will be exclusively live nationally on Fox Footy.

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The Saturday of Round 23 will be the biggest Super Saturday LIVE for the Foxtel group, with five games — three exclusively live nationally.

On top of that, the Kangaroos and Cats’ AFLW teams will also play at Marvel Stadium on that Saturday, with their match to begin at 1pm. Richmond and Carlton will also play an AFLW clash at Ikon Park, with the first ball-up at 5.05pm.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, CODE Sports reporter Glenn McFarlane dubbed August 15 a “Melbourne Mini Gather Round”.

Round 23 of the AFL will begin with a blockbuster clash at Optus Stadium, with Fremantle and Adelaide to clash on Friday August 14. No Thursday night AFL match has been scheduled for the penultimate round, ensuring the Hawthorn-Melbourne AFLW clash the night before has clear air.

The opening AFL match of Round 24 will be the St Kilda-Gold Coast match on a Thursday night at Marvel Stadium – a clash that could see the Saints needing to win to sneak into the top 10.

Other potential wildcard teams like Collingwood, Carlton, Western Bulldogs, Melbourne Geelong and the Giants will all play on the Friday and Saturday of Round 24. The Demons and Bulldogs clash in the Super Saturday twilight spot before attention turns to GMHBA Stadium for the Cats-Tigers match. Both matches will be exclusively live nationally to the Foxtel Group.

The final Sunday of the home and away season will feature the Essendon-Port Adelaide, Sydney-North Melbourne and West Coast-Hawthorn games.

“The issue with the wildcard is that the AFL doesn’t want teams playing off a six-day break in the wildcard, which is obviously on that week now,” CODE Sports reporter Josh Barnes told Midweek Tackle.

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“So that means we’ve eliminated almost all of those wildcard teams from the Sunday, so we’re not really going to have a grandstand finish. I think we’ve lost something there.”

Collingwood’s Friday night clash with Brisbane looms as the most consequential game of Round 24.

“The final two rounds of the home-and-away season are set to play a significant role in shaping the finals picture, with a number of clubs still competing for top-four positions, home finals and places in September,” AFL fixture boss Josh Bowler said. “Fans can look forward to several marquee match-ups featuring some of the competition’s leading teams as the race to the 2026 Toyota AFL Finals Series reaches its conclusion.

“We’re also pleased to feature four AFL and AFLW double-headers across Rounds 23 and 24, providing supporters with more opportunities to experience both competitions, while the return of Kids Go Free in Victoria in Round 24 will help more families get along and enjoy the game as we build towards finals.”

On top of three Round 24 AFL games, five Round 2 AFLW games will be played on Sunday August 23, including a Swans-Bombers clash at the SCG before the Swans-Kangaroos men’s game at the same venue.

Overall four AFL and AFLW double-headers have been confirmed:

— Saturday August 15 at Marvel Stadium: North Melbourne v Geelong Cats (AFLW, 1pm) | North Melbourne v Geelong Cats (AFL, 3.45pm)

— Sunday August 16 at ENGIE Stadium: GWS Giants v West Coast Eagles (AFL, 1.40pm) | GWS Giants v West Coast Eagles (AFLW, 4.45pm)

— Saturday August 22 at GMHBA Stadium: Geelong Cats v St Kilda (AFLW, 5pm) | Geelong Cats v Richmond (AFL, 7.45pm)

— Sunday August 23 at the SCG: Sydney Swans v Essendon (AFLW, 12.30pm) | Sydney Swans v North Melbourne (AFL, 3.20pm)

“Where possible, we’ve adjusted the fixture to reduce overlap between AFLW and AFL matches, giving fans greater flexibility to attend or tune in to both competitions while continuing to showcase AFLW to the widest possible audience,” Bowler said.

“On behalf of the AFL, I’d like to thank the clubs, venues and broadcast partners for their collaboration and flexibility in accommodating these changes ahead of the season.”

AFL FIXTURE 2026

Note: All times AEST

ROUND 23

Friday August 14

Fremantle v Adelaide Crows, Optus Stadium (8.10pm)

Saturday August 15

Richmond v St Kilda, MCG (12.35pm)

North Melbourne v Geelong Cats, Marvel Stadium (3.45pm)

Brisbane Lions v Gold Coast Suns, The Gabba (4.15pm)

Hawthorn v Collingwood, MCG (7.40pm)

Port Adelaide v Melbourne, Adelaide Oval (8.10pm)

Sunday August 16

GWS Giants v West Coast Eagles, ENGIE Stadium (1.40pm)

Western Bulldogs v Carlton, Marvel Stadium (3.15pm)

Essendon v Sydney Swans, MCG (4.40pm)

ROUND 24

Thursday August 20

St Kilda v Gold Coast Suns, Marvel Stadium (7.30pm)

Friday August 21

Collingwood v Brisbane Lions, MCG (7.40pm)

Saturday August 22

Carlton v Fremantle, Marvel Stadium (1.15pm)

Melbourne v Western Bulldogs, MCG (4.15pm)

Geelong Cats v Richmond, GMHBA Stadium (7.45pm)

Adelaide Crows v GWS Giants, Adelaide Oval (8.10pm)

Sunday August 23

Essendon v Port Adelaide, Marvel Stadium (12.20pm)

Sydney Swans v North Melbourne, SCG (3.20pm)

West Coast Eagles v Hawthorn, Optus Stadium (7.20pm)

AFLW FIXTURE 2026

Note: All times AEST

ROUND 1

Sunday August 9

St Kilda v Carlton, Marvel Stadium (4.35pm)

Thursday August 13

Hawthorn v Melbourne, Ikon Park (7.15pm)

Saturday August 15

North Melbourne v Geelong Cats, Marvel Stadium (1.00pm)

Richmond v Collingwood, Ikon Park (5.05pm)

Gold Coast Suns v Western Bulldogs, People First Stadium (7.15pm)

Sunday August 16

Essendon v Brisbane Lions, Windy Hill (12.35pm)

Adelaide Crows v Sydney Swans, Unley Oval (12.35pm)

Fremantle v Port Adelaide, Cockburn ARC Oval (2.35pm)

GWS Giants v West Coast Eagles, ENGIE Stadium (4.45pm)

ROUND 2

Saturday August 22

Western Bulldogs v Richmond, Mission Whitten Oval (2.05pm)

West Coast Eagles v Gold Coast Suns, Mineral Resources Park (2.35pm)

Geelong Cats v St Kilda, GMHBA Stadium (5.00pm)

Brisbane Lions v North Melbourne, Brighton Homes Arena (7.15pm)

Sunday August 23

Sydney Swans v Essendon, SCG (12.30pm)

Collingwood v Fremantle, Victoria Park (12.35pm)

Melbourne v GWS Giants, Casey Fields (2.35pm)

Carlton v Adelaide Crows, Ikon Park (3.20pm)

Port Adelaide v Hawthorn, Alberton Oval (5.20pm)