At most three short breaks a season
CBA-02Catalogue name: At most three five-day breaks per club
What it means
A club can have no more than three five-day breaks in a season.
Why it exists
Short turnarounds are hard on players, so the players' agreement caps them. Allowing three (rather than one) is what makes Thursday-night football possible.
For example
Collingwood could play Thursday nightThe week's first game. The 2027 model has 24 of them, plus one Wednesday night on the 17 March calendar.Read more in the glossary after a Saturday game at most three times in a season.
How strictly it applies
Must-follow The fixture must obey this rule. A separate checker tests the finished fixture afterwards.
Must-follow. The cap has been three since 2024 (it was one in 2023); the 2027 value is taken from the current players' agreement.
Three per season since 2024; one in 2023.
Where to see it
Breaks between games shows how this plays out across the season.
How it played out across versions
One cell per release, oldest first. Each shows the verdict that release recorded for this rule; a release with no row for the rule says so.
- Preview 13 September2027 · Generated
Met, met
- Preview 14 September (seed 42)2027 · Generated
Met, met
- Repeat-qualified (seed 42)2027 · Generated
Met, met
- Corrected (seed 43)2027 · Generated
Met, met
- Rules release (seed 43)2027 · Generated
Met, met
- B009 nominal (seed 43)2027 · Generated
Met, met
- B010 nominal (weight 0.10)2027 · Generated
Met, met
- B011 nominal2027 · Generated
Met, met
- B012 Wednesday opening2027 · Generated
Met, met
- 20252025 season as played2025 · As played
Off, switched off by these settings
rule source not recorded
First checked independently in First full draft, 13 Sep 2026.
Related
For analysts: catalogue text and codes
- Rule id
CBA-02- Catalogue text
- Maximum three 5 Day Break Matches per club per season.
- Catalogue type
- Hard
- Catalogue family
- CBA / Player Welfare Constraints (2023–2027 CBA)
- Class
hard· The fixture must never break it.- Step
S2_5· Step 3: dates- Recorded status
met· source rowevaluated- Catalogue reason
- The agreement allows a limited number of short turnarounds, which is what makes Thursday-night football possible.