It’s the dawn of another sensational AFL season, which is the 129th edition of the top senior men's Australian Rules Football competition. It’s not only Antipodean fans who are getting in a frenzy, as millions around the globe regularly now tune in to watch the fast-paced action unfold on Australian soil. Australia’s premier spectator sport is one of the most exciting, skillful, tough, and fast-paced games in the world, played by some of the fittest athletes on the planet. Including both the regular season and the AFL Finals Series, the 2025 campaign will run from Thursday, March 6 to Saturday, September 27.
The Aussie Rules landscape has transformed dramatically over the past century. For a lengthy period, the sport was dominated by sides from the state of Victoria, hence the top league in the country, known as the Victorian Football League (VFL), from 1897 to 1990. The inaugural season of the VFL saw eight teams compete, all of which were based in Australia’s ‘Garden State.’ Over the next century, a series of expansions, a relocation, a merger, and a club withdrawal saw the league's teams expand to the 18 teams that we know and love today.
The majority (ten) of those 18 clubs still hail from Victoria, nine of which are located in the Melbourne metropolitan area, however all five of Australia’s mainland states now have clubs representing them. Further expansion also awaits, as a Tasmanian team (unsurprisingly known as the Devils) is set to join the AFL party from 2028. AFL Premiership matches have now been staged in all of Australia’s states and mainland territories, and in an attempt to increase their global reach, they’ve also been played in New Zealand and China.
The 2025 AFL season begins with a match between reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions and Geelong at The Gabba on Thursday, March 6. It’s the first match-up of a 4-game Opening Round, which once again sees the four NSW and Queensland clubs hosting against four Victorian teams before all 18 clubs play the following week during Round 1.
The Brisbane Lions walloped Sydney by 60pts in the Grand Final last September to claim their fourth Premiership flag. Brisbane (then called the Bears) only entered the top league fray in 1986 when the Queensland Australian Football League was awarded a license to field an expansion team. They would become known as the Lions ahead of the 1997 season when merging with Fitzroy, who were placed into administration. Despite losing the services of Joe Daniher, who retired following their Grand Final success, Brisbane will have high hopes of becoming the first side to claim back-to-back premiers since Richmond in 2020.
Following their Grand Final humbling, Sydney’s long-standing coach, John Longmire, resigned, and his former assistant, Dean Cox, took over the Swans’ reins as their new coach. There’s also been a coaching change at West Coast, where Adam Simpson’s full-time successor was officially announced as Andrew McQualter. It could be a tough first season for McQualter, who held the caretaking role at Richmond during 2023. The West Coast Eagles famously became the first non-Victorian club to be crowned champions back in 1992, but they won only 10 games in total during the previous three seasons.
Getty Images Collingwood, Carlton, and Essendon are the three most-honoured clubs in Aussie Rules history, having lifted the Premiership trophy on 16 occasions apiece. However, Collingwood are several rungs clear on the minor premiers’ ladder with 20 table-topping feats, and they’ve also been Grand Final runners-up a staggering 27 times. Of those three most coveted clubs, Collingwood and Carlton look to have the best chances of going all the way this time around.
There have been numerous AFL rules changes implemented over the years and 2025 is no different. This year, stricter time limits have been introduced for moving the ball after a mark, which will hopefully prevent delays and keep matches fast-flowing. In addition, new tackling rules have been implemented to prioritize player safety, especially to protect against head and neck injuries.
Let GOAL bring you all the vital information you need for the 2025 AFL season, including how the AFL season format works, what the upcoming fixtures are, and how you can watch and stream all the matches live.
AFL 2025 season fixtures
Getty ImagesCheck out all the upcoming AFL matches. All times shown are AEDT (GMT +11hrs / ET +18hrs)
Ahead of the 2025 AFL fixture release, it was announced that the home-and-away part of the season will feature Thursday night matches during 23 of the 25 rounds. In addition, there will be Sunday night matches during nine of the first 16 rounds.
Opening Round
The Brisbane v Geelong match will be one of four played during this year’s Opening Round. It was an initiative that was introduced last season, where New South Wales and Queensland clubs (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Greater Western Sydney and Sydney) host matches against four Victorian clubs. All those eight clubs playing during the Opening Round will receive a bye before Round 5, so that all the AFL sides will have played the same number of matches leading into Gather Round, where all matches are played in a single city and its surrounding area.
Date | Time (AEDT) | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, March 6 | 7:50 pm | Brisbane Lions v Geelong | The Gabba |
Friday, March 7 | 7:40 pm | Sydney v Hawthorn | Sydney Cricket Ground |
Saturday, March 8 | 4:15 pm | Gold Coast v Essendon | People First Stadium |
Sunday, March 9 | 3:20 pm | Greater Western Sydney v Collingwood | Engie Stadium |
Round 1
Date | Time (AEDT) | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, March 13 | 7:30 pm | Richmond v Carlton | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Friday, March 14 | 7:40 pm | Hawthorn v Essendon | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Saturday, March 15 | 1:20 pm | Geelong v Fremantle | GMHBA Stadium |
Saturday, March 15 | 4:15 pm | Sydney v Brisbane Lions | Sydney Cricket Ground |
Saturday, March 15 | 7:35 pm | Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne | Marvel Stadium |
Saturday, March 15 | 7:35 pm | Collingwood v Port Adelaide | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Sunday, March 16 | 12:35 pm | Adelaide v St Kilda | Adelaide Oval |
Sunday, March 16 | 3:20 pm | Melbourne v Greater Western Sydney | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Sunday, March 16 | 6:10 pm | West Coast v Gold Coast | Optus Stadium |
How to watch the 2025 AFL season in Australia
Getty2025 marks the start of the AFL’s seven-year, $4.5 billion broadcast rights deal with the Seven Network, Foxtel and Telstra, which is the biggest sports broadcast rights deal in Australian history. As part of the deal, Seven, the free-to-air TV network, will show 3 or 4 games a week on average during the home-and-away season, as well as all Finals. This includes Thursday Night games for the first 15 rounds and streaming rights to all matches they broadcast via 7+.
Fox Footy will continue to show every home-and-away game and every Finals match live bar the Grand Final via Foxtel and Kayo Sports. All Saturday matches outside of marquee matches will be exclusive to Foxtel and Kayo for the first eight rounds of the season, while all Saturday night matches in the last eight rounds of the season will be exclusive to Seven.
The Foxtel Sports bundle costs $69 per month on a 12-month plan, or $103 per month without a lock-in contract. For those looking to subscribe to Kayo Sports, there are two flexible options available. These will be known as Kayo Standard and Kayo Premium from March 4 and cost $25 and $40 respectively.
How to watch the 2025 AFL season outside of Australia
Getty ImagesOutside of Australia, Watch AFL is the official international streaming partner of the AFL, where you can stream every match of the Toyota AFL Premiership and Finals Series LIVE and on-demand. There are three subscription options available. The weekly option costs AUD $24, the monthly one is $44 and the 12-month version is $229.
If you aren’t able to watch AFL live in your area or if you're travelling, you can also use a VPN to tune into the action from wherever you are. A VPN creates a secure connection that lets you bypass geographical restrictions and access your favourite streaming services from anywhere.
We recommend NordVPN as a solid VPN option if you're stuck on which one to buy. But if you want to explore other options, check out our detailed VPN guide.
2025 AFL season key dates
- Opening Round Thursday, March 6
- Round 5 (Gather Round) Thursday, April 10
- Round 7 (Anzac Appeal Round) Thursday, April 24
- Round 10 (Sir Doug Nicholls Round week 1) Thursday, May 15
- Round 11 (Sir Doug Nicholls Round week 2) Thursday, May 22
- Round 13 (Kings Birthday Round) Thursday, June 5
- AFL Finals Series starts Thursday, September 4
- AFL Grand Final Saturday, September 27