AFL schedules historic MCG double‑header to ease fixture crunch

The Australian Football League will host two men’s matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, 15 August, marking the fourth double‑header in VFL/AFL history and the first at the MCG since 2021. Essendon will face the Sydney Swans and Richmond will meet St Kilda in the back‑to‑back games. A third marquee clash, Hawthorn versus Collingwood, is slated for Sunday, 16 August, also at the MCG.

The double‑header is part of a compressed Round 23 schedule that squeezes nine AFL games into three days, freeing Thursday, 13 August for an AFLW fixture between Melbourne and Hawthorn. The league will release the complete Round 23 and Round 24 fixtures on Wednesday.

Previously, the only men’s MCG double‑headers occurred in 1986 (Rounds 5 and 19).