{"id":15629,"date":"2025-07-23T09:28:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T09:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15629\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T09:28:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T09:28:13","slug":"australia-nfl-game-set-to-play-havoc-with-afl-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15629\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia NFL game set to play havoc with AFL finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL\u2019s first-ever game in Australia is on a collision course with the AFL\u2019s 2026 finals, as the American league locks in a blockbuster at the MCG, right in the heart of September.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the Los Angeles Rams confirmed as one half of the fixture, AFL officials now face a scheduling headache they didn\u2019t foresee when welcoming the idea earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Herald Sun\u2019s Jon Ralph revealed on Fox Footy\u2019s Midweek Tackle<\/a> that the likely date for the NFL match is Friday, 11 September 2026, which falls in the second week of the AFL finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If major Melbourne clubs like Carlton or Collingwood qualify for home semi-finals, the AFL could be left scrambling to relocate or delay key matches.<\/p>\n

No \u201ceasy answers\u201d for AFL as MCG pressure builds<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NFL is about to seriously upset the AFL\u2019s finals plans next year,\u201d Ralph said. \u201cMy understanding is that Friday, September 11, is the likely date for that clash\u2026 That would mean that it\u2019s semi-final weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Will Joe Daniher come out of AFL retirement?<\/a><\/p>\n

While options like moving the AFL season or scheduling finals at alternate venues have been floated, Ralph said a two-week shift proposed by Eddie McGuire, ending with an October Grand Final, remains unlikely.<\/p>\n

MCC boss Stuart Fox tried to downplay the logistical chaos, telling SEN: \u201cHistory shows we can turn the ground very quickly\u2026 it\u2019s going to be a challenge for our team, but that\u2019s what our team do for a living.\u201d<\/p>\n

And despite Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen\u2019s assurance that \u201cthere won\u2019t be a clash,\u201d the tension between codes is undeniable.<\/p>\n

As Herald Sun\u2019s Lauren Wood put it: \u201cThey\u2019re known for big hits in the NFL \u2014 and it\u2019s well and truly on a collision course.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL\u2019s first-ever game in Australia is on a collision course with the AFL\u2019s 2026 finals, as the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-15629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}