Three Friday night double-headers?

THE biggest surprise of the 2022 AFL fixture was the trio of weeks with Friday double-headers.

Round three will see Melbourne host Essendon into the Port v Crows showdown, round five has the Good Friday clash between North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs followed by West Coast versus Sydney and round eight has Port Adelaide hosting the Dogs followed by Fremantle and the Kangaroos.

While this caught many off guard, there are clear reasons for all three double-headers, as explained by AFL Head of Broadcasting and Scheduling Marcus King.

“There is a rationale [behind the Friday double-header]… the reason for that [in round three] is that’s the weekend of the AFLW grand final,” King told Sportsday.

“So by having a second game on the Friday, it does clear out space on the Saturday for the women’s grand final, which we think is really important.

“The AFLW Grand Final will be the Saturday.

“Then in round five, which is Good Friday, we have the two games there, which we’ve done the last couple of years.

“Then in round eight, the two games, round eight is Mother’s Day, and the feedback from fans and clubs has been that attending footy on Mother’s Day is not ideal.

“So by having a second Friday on that round, it does reduce the number of games on that Sunday.”

The Friday double-ups in rounds three and eight overlap and King said they had to find a way to balance the broadcast and attendance side of things.

“We were trying to find a balance between a broadcast outcome and achieving as much separation as possible, but also providing for an attendance outcome for both games,” he said.

“Balancing those factors, we landed on the times with about an hour’s difference.

“We understand that there is an overlap, but each game does have a half in clear air and we’re really excited about both games.

“Speaking with the Crows and Port, there’s a high degree of excitement about a Friday Showdown.”

The season will get underway on March 16 with another first, Melbourne and the Bulldogs facing off on a Wednesday night.

– BY NIC NEGREPONTIS/ SEN