The 2024 AFL season has been alive from the controversial opening round in the northern states to the final super Sunday, with top-eight positions debated for months and tight games keeping everyone guessing.

But this season has also raised a multitude of issues for the AFL to address ahead of 2025 so that the fans’ focus stays on the skill and courage of players as their clubs battle for an elusive premiership, rather than the league leaving problems to fester in the too-hard basket.

Fixturing, the bounce and questions about the Brownlow Medal: Some of the things that should be on the agenda for the AFL in 2025.Credit: Artwork: Stephen Kiprillis

We look at what should be on the agenda at headquarters in the off-season.

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There has already been plenty of feedback about opening round. Carlton CEO Brian Cook said there should be a rotating cast of clubs involved, while Collingwood president Jeff Browne voiced the Magpies’ reluctance to be part of the special round unless all clubs were involved because of the preparation issues it created. Meanwhile, several clubs not involved in 2024’s run thought it unfair that eight clubs had an extra in-season bye.

The AFL is determined to push on though, with CEO Andrew Dillon declaring it a success, but the support it has in the northern states is not universal. Despite misgivings, the issue was not discussed at the CEOs meeting in Perth in July.

It’s one of many issues that left multiple clubs disappointed with the 2024 fixture.

Gather round caused issues. Collingwood had a “home” game in South Australia as part of a month without a game in Victoria and the Saints were cruelled by a shocking fixture that resulted in them travelling five times in the first 12 rounds, as well as a trip to Geelong. In that period, Gold Coast played six games outside Queensland, with two of those matches home games in Darwin. Every team seemed to have a gripe at some point, with commercial imperatives threatening to override competitive balance and integrity.

This cycle, under a new broadcast agreement, kicks off with opening round, Gather round, Thursday night football, a potential wildcard weekend and the pre-finals bye all adding to fixture complexity and competing priorities. A plan is needed.

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