About this site
About this site and how the fixture is made
An independent, AI-generated study of the AFL fixture. Not affiliated with the AFL or any club.
What this is
thefixture.com.au is an unofficial, AI-generated explorer for a modelled AFLAustralian Football League.Read more in the glossary fixture. A research model produced the fixture shown here. The AFL did not write or endorse it. The AFL will publish its own 2027 fixture on its own timetable. “Modelled” means our model produced the result.
Who made it
One person built this independent research project with AI assistance. It explores how to build a fixture and explain each decision. It is not affiliated with the AFL, any club, broadcaster or venue.
How the fixture is built
We build the fixture in five steps. Step 1 picks which six opponents each club plays twice. Step 2 places games, byeA round in which a club does not play.Read more in the glossary and special rounds. Step 3 gives each game a date, follows the players’ rest rules and chooses the Thursday and Friday night games. Step 4 picks the home club and ground. Step 5 gives each game a TV time band and models which games go to free-to-airTelevision anyone can watch without a subscription.Read more in the glossary TV. Steps 1 to 4 must prove they found the best answer their rules allow before publication. Step 5 records its result and how close it came to that proof.
- OpponentsOpponentsWho plays twice
- RoundsRoundsWhich round
- DatesDatesWhich day
- Home ground and venueVenueWho hosts, and where
- TV slotTV slotWhich slot
Afterwards: A human tweak, then a re-run. pin a game → re-run → new version → see what changed
Steps 1 to 4 must prove no better answer exists within their rules before publication. A step that reaches its time limitHow long each stage may run. The 30 September release allowed ten minutes per stage.Read more in the glossary might give a different answer next time. Repeatable results let others check the work. Step 5 records its result and how close it came to proof.
How it works, step by stepRead the journeyExplore the rulesWhat the model aims forGlossaryFAQ
How it is checked
Separate programs, called checkers, read the finished fixture and test each rule. They do not rely on the program that built it. A verdictAn independent checker's result for one rule on one version: met, not met, switched off, or doesn't apply.Read more in the glossary is a rule’s recorded result: met, not met, switched offNo checker could test this rule in this version. Not a verdict on the fixture.Read more in the glossary, couldn’t check, or doesn’t apply. A version stays “incomplete” while any rule relies on an assumption or unknown instead of a sourced fact for that season. Every release so far is incomplete.
Where the rules come from
The rules come from public records. These include the players’ collective agreement, the reported TV deal, AFL fixture announcements and booklets, and ground and sold-game deals. We also use a published academic description of AFL scheduling. We compare unwritten conventions with the AFL’s 2023 to 2026 fixtures and label them modelled assumptionA value we chose because the AFL has not published the 2027 fact, or because a convention is only visible in past fixtures.Read more in the glossary. We also label assumptions made because the AFL has not published a 2027 fact.
What is not here
The model chooses a weekday and time band. Some versions also record an assumed start time for each slot, marked modelled. These are not AFL-announced kickoff timeAn assumed start time for a slot, marked modelled. It appears below the slot band and is not an AFL-announced time.Read more in the glossary. No audience, ratings or crowd numbers are published here. A model helps choose TV slots, but its predictions are not measured viewer counts. Finals are not modelled. Clubs appear as plain-text names, without league or club marks.
Versions and edits
Every published fixture stays unchanged and has its own fingerprintA unique code computed from a version's contents. Change one byte and the fingerprint changes.Read more in the glossary. Nine releases appeared between 13 and 30 September 2026. A human edit pins a match detail and rebuilds the fixture around it. This creates a new version and a recorded comparison with the earlier one. The site displays recorded checks and changes without calculating them again.
Honesty rules
We use three distinct labels for gaps. “Not recorded” means the field exists but is empty. “Unknown” means we looked and could not find out. “Not modelled” means we chose to leave it out. Zero means we counted something and found none. We publish no compliance percentages or quality scores, and never invent precision.
Who this is for
Footy fans can explore how a season fits together. Analysts can check the detail. Fixture builders can compare approaches.
The site shows how a model builds a fixture and how that compares with the AFL's publicly shown process. It is not the AFL's fixture, and it is not endorsed by the AFL.
Flagging an issue
Use “Flag an issue” beside a match detail, rule explanation or release note. The report includes the version, match or rule, detail and displayed value. Add what seems wrong or missing, a source if you have one, and an optional email.
Some rules depend on facts the community may know better than we do. The clearest case is whether a ground is free that day: no venue has confirmed any date, so its verdict reads “No known conflict”, never “met”, and its flag link is the prominent kind.
Reports go to a public issue tracker at github.com (a free account is needed) or, by email, to flags@thefixture.com.au.
Contact
Questions, corrections and sources: flags@thefixture.com.au. There is no newsletter and no tracking; the only thing the site remembers is a club you choose on your own device.
Disclaimer
- thefixture.com.au is an unofficial, AI-generated fixture explorer. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the AFL or any club.
- This is a modelled fixture, not the AFL's announced fixture. The AFL will publish its own 2027 fixture.
- Every value shown is a recorded fact from the fixture version named above. Where we have nothing, it says not recorded.
- No league or club marks are used. Clubs appear as plain-text names.
Current version: B012 Wednesday opening from the release of 30 Sep 2026.