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Find your frequency herePrime time stats: Has the AFL’s Thursday and Friday schedule worked?
Jaiden Sciberras • July 25th, 2025 6:30 pm
Thursday and Friday night prime time slots have been at the forefront of fixture discussions over the course of 2025.
From low quality matchups to double headers and poor attendance, there’s no doubting that the AFL missed in their attempt to maximise the desirable time slots.
Given the chatter, the SEN.com.au team have tallied up every Thursday and Friday night clash (excluding Opening Round), providing an overview on the numbers related with the highly-debated fixture (with one round still to schedule).
The stats show that of the top nine sides entering the back half of 2025, seven featured in at least five prime time games, with the expansion sides in GWS (four) and Gold Coast (two) rarely landing a top slot.
Essendon leads all comers with 12 prime time games, followed by Carlton (11), Western Bulldogs (10) and Collingwood (10), marking the only sides with double digit prime time games.
The top five clubs with the most prime time slots are Victorian-based, with the reigning premiers in Brisbane (seven) landing the most of all interstate sides.
The MCG hosted the most Thursday and Friday fixtures with 11 in total, followed by Marvel Stadium (10), as Victoria played host to 30 of the 50 prime time games thus far.
The round featuring the highest average ladder position across prime time games (prior to Round 20) was a tie between Round 5 (Adelaide versus Geelong on Thursday and Collingwood versus Sydney on Friday) and Round 13 (Western Bulldogs versus Hawthorn on Thursday and Adelaide versus Brisbane on Friday), both with an average ladder position of 4.5.
The lowest was in Round 8, as Essendon faced North Melbourne on Thursday and St Kilda hosted Fremantle on Friday for an average ladder position of 13.25.
NOTE: The AFL hosted four marquee games within Thursday and Friday night slots:
- Round 6: North Melbourne versus Carlton (Good Friday)
- Round 7: Melbourne versus Richmond (Anzac Day Eve)
- Round 7: Collingwood versus Essendon (Anzac Day)
- Round 11: Essendon versus Richmond (Dreamtime at the 'G)
These fixtures have been considered within calculations.
See the statistics below:
Prime time slots per AFL team
Essendon - 12
Carlton – 11
Western Bulldogs - 10
Collingwood – 10
Hawthorn – 9
Brisbane - 7
Geelong - 5
Adelaide - 5
Fremantle - 5
St Kilda - 4
Sydney - 4
GWS – 4
North Melbourne - 3
Richmond - 3
West Coast - 2
Port Adelaide - 2
Melbourne - 2
Gold Coast - 2
Prime time games featuring two top nine teams - 18
Prime time games featuring two bottom nine teams – 10
Average ladder positions within prime time slots: *
Round 1 - 11.5
Round 2 - 7
Round 3 - 11.25
Round 4 - 7.5
Round 5 - 4.5
Round 6 - 10.67
Round 7 - 9
Round 8 - 13.25
Round 9 - 8.75
Round 10 - 8.75
Round 11 - 10.75
Round 12 - 5.5
Round 13 - 4.5
Round 14 - 8
Round 15 - 6.75
Round 16 - 10.5
Round 17 - 10.5
Round 18 - 5.75
Round 19 - 7.75
Round 20 - 9.33
Round 21 - 5.75
Round 22 - 6
Round 23 - 9.5
Average combined ladder position: 8.38
Average Thursday night ladder position: 8.39
Average Friday night ladder position: 8.38
*Prior to Round 20.
Average margin per prime time game
Thursday night: 27.84
Smallest margin: 3 pts - Round 8: Essendon 65-62 North Melbourne
Biggest margin: 72 pts - Round 14: St Kilda 60-132 Western Bulldogs
Games decided by two goals or less: 3
Games decided by 40+ points: 6
Friday night: 27.63
Smallest margin: 2 pts - Round 6: West Coast 75-77 Essendon
Biggest margin: 82 pts - Round 6: North Melbourne 71-153 Carlton
Games decided by two goals or less: 8
Games decided by 40+ points: 7
Prime time games per state
VIC – 30
WA – 6
SA – 5
QLD – 4
NSW – 3
NT – 1
TAS - 1
Average attendance per stadium
MCG – 77,137 (11 games)
Thursday average – 74,109 (Four)
Friday average – 78,867 (Seven)
Average occupancy rate: 77.12%
Optus Stadium - 44,526 (Five games)
Thursday average – 42,475 (Two)
Friday average – 45,760 (Three)
Average occupancy rate: 72.68%
Adelaide Oval – 42,756 (Four games)
Thursday average – 40,227 (Two)
Friday average – 45,285 (Two)
Average occupancy rate: 79.92%
SCG - 34,164 (Two games)
Thursday average – nil
Friday average – 34,164 (Two)
Average occupancy rate: 71.18%
GMHBA Stadium - 32,802 (Three games)
Thursday average – 32,641 (One)
Friday average – 32,882 (Two)
Average occupancy rate: 82.01%
Marvel Stadium – 30,683 (10 games)
Thursday average – 27,863 (Seven)
Friday average – 37,263 (Three)
Average occupancy rate: 57.52%
The Gabba – 30,094 (Three games)
Thursday average – 30,622 (Two)
Friday average – 29,039 (One)
Average occupancy rate: 71.65%
Others:
People First Stadium - 22,831 (One game, Friday night)
York Stadium - 15,129 (One game, Friday night)
TIO Stadium - 12,314 (One game, Thursday night)
