{"id":621504,"date":"2026-04-21T14:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621504\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:02:14","slug":"afls-opening-round-concept-to-be-permanently-scrapped-and-replaced-by-hallelujah-round-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621504\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL\u2019s Opening Round concept to be permanently scrapped and replaced by \u2018Hallelujah Round 1\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AFL<\/a> is scrapping its maligned Opening Round format \u2014 the soft launch of the new season before Round 1 \u2014 with industry figures believing this year was a failure that handed the NRL<\/a> a one-month head start.<\/p>\n

Fans, clubs, and coaches have all complained about the concept, that was originally conceived to shine a light on the AFL in Australia\u2019s rugby league states (NSW, Qld) to kickstart a new season.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL permanently scraps Opening Round<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone admits that (Opening Round) was a failure,\u201d veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson said on Channel 7\u2019s The Agenda Setters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Newsbreaker Tom Morris said: \u201cOpening Round is dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dead,\u201d Wilson responded.<\/p>\n

AFL great Daisy Thomas: \u201cForever?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson: \u201cForever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas: \u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oddly, the first round of the season was called Opening Round and it originally invloved all the New South Wales and Queensland clubs, pitting them against Victorian clubs (so just four games).<\/p>\n

So in the first year of the expeirment in 2024 there were four games, Sydney v Melbourne, Brisbane v Carlton, Gold Coast v Richmond, and GWS v Collingwood.<\/p>\n

However, in 2025 there was chaos when a cyclone threatened the Queensland coast and the games in that state were called off and rescheduled.<\/p>\n

This year an extra game was added to the round, played at the MCG between St Kilda and Collingwood.<\/p>\n

In all three years South Australian clubs and Western Australian clubs have been shut out. Because not all teams play, the next handful rounds all involve byes which contributes to the sputtering start for fans.<\/p>\n

Wilson said the AFL and the broadcasters and the clubs all quietly believed that they gave the NRL a one-month head-start \u201cbecause of the failure of this year\u2019s Opening Round\u201d.<\/p>\n

AFL expert Kane Cornes said: \u201cThey botched it … do they feel like they botched it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson said they were admitting that behind the scenes but it would be unlikely they would say it publicly.<\/p>\n

She said the AFL would now rebrand the season-opener as \u201cHallelujah Round 1\u201d when the 2027 season kicks off in mid-March.<\/p>\n

The season is set to start two weeks later than usual, potentially on Thursday, March 18, due to scheduling conflicts with a day-night Ashes Test at the MCG that could run until the Monday before the proposed season start.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we know the season\u2019s starting two weeks later. We know it\u2019s going to be called Hallelujah Round 1. It\u2019s not going to be called Opening Round,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Asked how the northern clubs were feeling about the fact that Opening Round had been sacked, Wilson said next year was already looking complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the season\u2019s starting late, there\u2019s a real doubt that, for example, GWS\u2019s ground will be available because of the Easter Show, Easter\u2019s early,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Head here to watch The Agenda Setters on 7plus Sport<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe MCG have told the AFL they cannot get the ground ready by Thursday if the Test goes all the way to Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris, Channel 7\u2019s chief cricket reporter, said there was no way a pink-ball Test would go five days.<\/p>\n

But Wilson said they can\u2019t plan for the outcome of the Test when they put the fixture together in October.<\/p>\n

She said they had to plan for a Friday game that week \u201cto be safe\u201d and the Thursday game, the opening match of the season. would have to be somewhere else.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might even open the season on a Wednesday. There will be nine games. They want blockbusters across the MCG,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Wilson had earlier told 7NEWS that the AFL were looking at a grand final rematch to launch the season for Round 1, instead of the traditional Richmond v Carlton clash.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t be Richmond v Carlton, that almost two-decade tradition, for the best part of 20 years it\u2019s been going on, won\u2019t be at the MCG on the season-opening Thursday night,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

She said a week next year\u2019s Ashes Test at the MCG there would be a State of Origin game.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy very confident prediction is that that game will be held again in Western Australia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said the states involved were bing \u201cdisputed\u201d but \u201ceveryone\u201d wanted to play Victoria.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other sweeteners that will come into the Gather Round deal, including huge boosts for footy in South Australia, beyond what the SANFL already do for footy in that state, in the recognition that Queensland\u2019s numbers have gone ahead of South Australia\u2019s,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGather Round could be as early as Round 3, or it could be Round 4. Easter will be Round 2, and obviously the grand final will be held in October.\u201d<\/p>\n

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