AFLW's New Era: Inside the 2024 Fixture Changes
The AFL's release of the 2024 AFLW fixture on Friday revealed a season unlike any before it—one defined by a longer competition, experimental scheduling, and matchups that have never been contested in the league's history.
The centerpiece of this year's changes is the introduction of an 11-game home-and-away season, an increase from previous years. But the AFL didn't simply add another week. Instead, it has carved out a four-week "Mid-Week Footy" block within the fixture where matches will be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, sandwiched between weekend games. It's an audacious scheduling experiment designed to test whether AFLW can claim its own weekday television real estate.
Why does this reshape the competition? The AFLW has expanded faster than perhaps any domestic sport in Australian history. Since launching with just eight teams in 2017, it has grown to 18 teams this year, and each addition makes the fixture exponentially more complex. A longer season and midweek matches represent an attempt to create more content, more revenue streams, and more exposure for a league that has captured national attention. For the AFL, it's a bet that fans will embrace football beyond the traditional Saturday and Sunday slots.
For clubs, the 2024 fixture brings genuine historic firsts. Port Adelaide will face Collingwood, Fremantle, and Richmond for the first time since joining the AFLW, while Hawthorn encounters four new opponents in a single season, with three of those clashes coming in the opening month. These matchups signal the final era of "first-ever" meetings—soon, every team will have played every other team multiple times, and the fixture-writing challenge will shift entirely.
The season also embraces cultural moments through themed rounds. Pride Week will see AFLW teams wear special guernsey designs to celebrate LGBTQ+ inclusion, while Indigenous Rounds in weeks nine and ten honour First Nations players and communities. Hawthorn hosting Melbourne at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns during Indigenous Week exemplifies how the league is embedding these celebrations into the fabric of competition.
Venue expansion mirrors the AFLW's geographic ambitions. Hawthorn debuts at Victoria Park and Unley Oval, while committing to Cairns for at least the next three seasons through a partnership with the Queensland Government. Port Adelaide plays at Alberton, and matches in Frankston bring AFLW to established footy strongholds. It's expansion beyond just adding teams—it's about reaching new communities.
The compressed midweek block creates real logistical challenges. Port Adelaide will play back-to-back games in Melbourne within four days before returning home, a schedule that blurs the line between competition and endurance test.
The 2024 AFLW fixture is ultimately a snapshot of a competition at an inflection point. Longer seasons, experimental scheduling, new venues, and countless first-time meetings all point toward a league that has shed its expansion phase. It's no longer asking whether women's football can work in Australia—it's asking how big it can grow, and how much the competition can hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mid-Week Footy is a new four-week scheduling block where matches are played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays alongside weekend games. The AFL introduced it to test whether women's football can establish regular weekday television slots, similar to the men's competition. It runs during weeks four to seven of the fixture.
The move from fewer games to 11-game home-and-away seasons allows the league to create more content, increase revenue opportunities, and boost broadcast exposure. It reflects the AFLW's rapid growth and confidence that the competition can sustain a longer fixture.
The AFLW expanded from 8 teams in 2017 to 18 teams in 2024. As new teams join, clubs naturally meet opponents for the first time. This is transitional—once the competition stabilizes, every team will have played every other team multiple times, and first-ever meetings will become rare.