AFL’s Opening Round Under Fire: Calls Mount to Scrap Controversial Season Start
The AFL’s controversial Opening Round, introduced to inject early season excitement, is facing increasing criticism from prominent figures and fans alike, with calls growing for its abolition. Essendon legend James Hird has become the latest high-profile voice to urge the league to ditch the initiative, arguing it’s detrimental to the quality of football and player welfare.
Hird’s sentiments were echoed on Nine’s Footy Furnace, where the focus was on the perceived drop in the standard of games scheduled during the initial weeks of the season. While the opening fixtures, such as Geelong versus Adelaide and Collingwood versus GWS, hold promise for high-quality contests, the subsequent weekend’s matchups are viewed by many as less compelling.
The current schedule sees struggling teams pitted against powerhouse clubs, or matchups between teams widely considered to be at the lower end of the competition. For instance, St Kilda faces the formidable Brisbane Lions, while Fremantle is heavily favoured to defeat a rebuilding Richmond. Essendon and North Melbourne are currently seen as two of the competition’s weaker outfits, and Port Adelaide is expected to comfortably overcome a struggling West Coast. Even Carlton and Melbourne, who finished 11th and 14th respectively last year, have displayed concerning early-season form.
Adding to the scheduling woes, several top-tier contenders, including Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn, and Sydney Swans, are slated for byes in Round 3. This follows a Round 1 that also saw several major clubs, such as Brisbane, Collingwood, Geelong, and Carlton, enjoy an early break. This stop-start nature of the early season is not only frustrating for fans seeking consistent high-quality football but is also reportedly causing significant distress for players.
Collingwood star Darcy Cameron voiced these concerns on 3AW’s Wide World of Sports. He explained the importance of match fitness and the gradual build-up of form in the early weeks of a season. “I’m sure you can remember what those first couple games of the year are like, when you get the match fitness in and you’re just starting to get into the swing of things and feel good through the last quarters,” Cameron told Geelong legend Jimmy Bartel. He admitted to feeling some apprehension about his own conditioning heading into Friday’s game, suggesting that a bye four or five weeks into the season would be more beneficial than the current early break.
The Genesis and Downfall of Opening Round
The AFL introduced Opening Round last year with the intention of gaining a competitive edge in the media landscape, particularly in states where rugby league holds significant sway. The league’s initial strategy was to “rob the NRL’s house” by launching its season while the NRL was playing in Las Vegas. However, the timing proved problematic, with Opening Round often occurring a week too late, coinciding with the NRL’s own season kick-off in Queensland and Sydney.
Despite these initial criticisms, the AFL persisted with the concept for the 2026 season. In a move that drew further bewilderment, a Melbourne-based game was added to the opening weekend, creating a direct clash with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. This scheduling oversight further fuelled the debate surrounding the necessity and effectiveness of Opening Round.
Proposed Solutions and Alternative Perspectives
With 18 teams in the league, a simpler and potentially more effective approach could be to schedule nine games each weekend, a structure that could be maintained until mid-season when byes might become more strategically relevant. Currently, a significant portion of the season, nine out of 25 rounds, features team byes.
James Hird advocates for a return to the traditional model: “Don’t play Opening Round, and have all nine games played (each weekend) throughout the year,” he stated on Footy Furnace. He highlighted the widespread frustration with the current ladder’s perceived imbalance and the lack of compelling matchups between top-tier teams in the early rounds. “I think everyone is frustrated with where the ladder’s at, the fact you don’t have the best games… you still want a good game on a Saturday and a good game on a Sunday,” Hird added, lamenting the absence of clashes between top-eight teams in recent weekends.
These sentiments align with those of fellow Bombers icon Matthew Lloyd, who has also voiced his disapproval of Opening Round’s impact on the competition. Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is another notable figure who has publicly criticised the current scheduling.
However, not everyone is convinced that Opening Round is a lost cause. Jimmy Bartel, who was an early proponent of the initiative, offered a more optimistic outlook on the Round 3 fixtures. He believes that some of the matchups, despite the broader concerns, present intriguing storylines. “I actually think there are some good story lines in those games though,” Bartel responded to Hird. He pointed to the St Kilda versus Brisbane clash as “tasty” due to off-field dynamics and anticipated considerable media and fan interest in the Essendon versus North Melbourne game. Furthermore, Bartel expressed his personal fascination with the Carlton versus Melbourne encounter, noting the extended break Melbourne has had and his eagerness to see their performance.
Despite these alternative perspectives, the chorus of voices calling for the AFL to reconsider its Opening Round strategy continues to grow, with many hoping for a return to a more traditional and arguably more compelling start to the season.
