New Sunday night slot, prime time winners revealed<\/a><\/p>\nMeanwhile, dual blockbusters against old foes Carlton should see the MCG packed on both occasions, especially if the Blues can pick up where they left off with a stunning end to 2026 under caretaker-turned-full time coach Josh Fraser.<\/p>\n
As an added boost, the Pies leave Melbourne only six times, including a Friday night Gather Round clash with Sydney at the Adelaide Oval, leaving a whopping 14 games at the MCG \u2013 including a Round 1 \u2018away\u2019 match against Marvel Stadium tenant the Saints.<\/p>\n
With McRae\u2019s men looking to rise back into the eight after a thrilling wildcard final loss ended their 2026 season, former great David King believes they\u2019ve been given a golden chance to do just that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like the AFL want Collingwood to go well,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fourth-easiest draw in the competition, 14 games at the MCG \u2013 they\u2019ve gone 16 wins two years ago back to 12 and two draws last season, so there\u2019s a little bit of pressure on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lachie Neale will play old team Brisbane in Round 2 at the Gabba.Source: Supplied Source Unknown<\/p>\n
The cherry on top is another season as the AFL\u2019s prime time kings.<\/p>\n
After ten home-and-away games in 2026 on Thursday or Friday night \u2013 plus their traditional Anzac Day and King\u2019s Birthday marquee matches \u2013 the Pies have a further six by Round 12 alone.<\/p>\n
With clashes with premiership contenders the Lions, Dockers, Geelong and Adelaide in the final eight rounds, which will be scheduled mid-year, that could easily swell into double digits should the Magpies have even another middling campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to see a lot of them, there\u2019s no doubt about that,\u201d King said. <\/p>\n
\u201c11 prime time opportunities, Thursday Friday Saturday night, so they\u2019d want to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, King also believes the Pies\u2019 prime time exposure could backfire badly on the AFL.<\/p>\n
Not only are the Pies one of the most intriguing teams heading into 2027, having added to an already ageing team with the acquisition of 33-year old Neale and 31-year old Jesse Hogan during the trade period; but they have become staunchly defence-first in recent seasons, ranking sixth for points against in 2026 but tenth for points for.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, this is a bit of a risk from the AFL,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a potential error, that we\u2019re going to see a lot of Collingwood, if they don\u2019t stack up.<\/p>\n
Reigning Brownlow Medallist Nick Daicos celebrates a goal. (Photo by Russell Freeman\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just not sure all their games were the most watchable last year. They play a brand of footy that can look great, that can look pretty humdrum for a little while. <\/p>\n
\u201c11 times (on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night) is a lot. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are Collingwood, and they\u2019ve got a huge supporter base, we all understand that. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot wait to see Lachie Neale in his new colours, and Jesse Hogan to give some real substance to that full forward position. Who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pies\u2019 season begins with a Saturday night clash against St Kilda at the MCG on March 20, and will be broadcast live and exclusive on Fox Footy\u2019s Super Saturday.<\/p>\n
COLLINGWOOD\u2019S FULL 2027 FIXTURE<\/p>\n
Round 1: St Kilda at the MCG (Saturday March 20, 7.40pm)<\/p>\n
Round 2: Brisbane Lions at the Gabba (Thursday March 25, 7.50pm)<\/p>\n
Round 3: Fremantle at the MCG (Thursday April 1, 7.30pm)<\/p>\n
Round 4: Sydney Swans at Adelaide Oval (Friday April 9, 7.40pm)<\/p>\n
Round 5: Carlton at the MCG (Thursday April 15, 7.30pm)<\/p>\n
Round 6: Essendon at the MCG (Sunday April 25, 3.15pm)<\/p>\n
Round 7: West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium (Saturday May 1, 7.35pm)<\/p>\n
Round 8: Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium (Friday May 7, 7.40pm)<\/p>\n
Round 9: North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium (Sunday May 16, 6.10pm)<\/p>\n
Round 10: Richmond at the MCG (Saturday May 22, 7.35pm)<\/p>\n
Round 11: Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval (Saturday May 29, 7.35pm)<\/p>\n
Round 12: Hawthorn at the MCG (Friday June 4, 7.40pm)<\/p>\n
Round 13: Melbourne at the MCG (Monday June 14, 3.15pm)<\/p>\n
Round 14: BYE<\/p>\n
Round 15: Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium (Saturday June 26, 7.35pm)<\/p>\n
Round 16: GWS Giants at the MCG (Saturday July 3, 4.35pm)<\/p>\n
Round 17: Brisbane Lions at the MCG<\/p>\n
Round 18: Geelong at the MCG<\/p>\n
Round 19: Essendon at the MCG<\/p>\n
Round 20: Fremantle at Optus Stadium<\/p>\n
Round 21: Carlton at the MCG<\/p>\n
Round 22: Adelaide Crows at the MCG<\/p>\n
Round 23: St Kilda at Marvel Stadium<\/p>\n
Round 24: Richmond at the MCG<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s never easy to tell which teams have been handed the best fixture from the AFL six months…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":945037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-945036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945036","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=945036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/945037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=945036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=945036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=945036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}