Rules · Venues · Must-follow · the model’s own rule

Big Victorian games at the MCG

internal:venue.BIG-CLUB-MCG

What it means

Games between two big Victorian clubsCollingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, Geelong, Hawthorn and Melbourne.Read more in the glossary go to the MCGMelbourne Cricket Ground.Read more in the glossary, never Docklands. The clubs are Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, Geelong, Hawthorn and Melbourne. Exceptions cover Gather RoundThe round in which every game is played in one host city. Every club appears once.Read more in the glossary and Geelong home games at Kardinia Park against those clubs, except Collingwood. Hawthorn may also host one such game in Tasmania per season.

Why it exists

This is what the AFLAustralian Football League.Read more in the glossary actually does: every season from 2023 to 2026 fits it. It is why Essendon plays most of its big games at the MCG.

For example

Essendon v Carlton is at the MCG even though both clubs also play home games at Docklands.

How strictly it applies

Must-follow The fixture must obey this rule. A separate checker tests the finished fixture afterwards.

Must-follow. A 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, not a written AFL rule. Checked from the 30 September release.

Where to see it

Who plays where 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.

13 Sep13 Sep 2026Preview 13 September2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
13 Sep13 Sep 2026Preview 14 September (seed 42)2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
14 Sep14 Sep 2026Repeat-qualified (seed 42)2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
14 Sep14 Sep 2026Corrected (seed 43)2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
14 Sep14 Sep 2026Rules release (seed 43)2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
15 Sep15 Sep 2026B009 nominal (seed 43)2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
18 Sep18 Sep 2026B010 nominal (weight 0.10)2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
19 Sep19 Sep 2026B011 nominal2027 · Generated
This version has no recorded result for this rule.
30 Sep30 Sep 2026B012 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 Realism rules added, 30 Sep 2026.

For analysts: catalogue text and codes

Rule id: internal:venue.BIG-CLUB-MCG
Catalogue text: Games between two big Victorian clubs go to the MCG, never Docklands. The clubs are Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, Geelong, Hawthorn and Melbourne. Exceptions cover Gather Round and Geelong home games at Kardinia Park against those clubs, except Collingwood. Hawthorn may also host one such game in Tasmania per season.
Catalogue type: modelled rule (not a catalogue row)
Catalogue family: internal
Class: hard · The fixture must never break it.
Step: S3 · Step 4: home ground and venue
Recorded status: met · source row evaluated
Catalogue reason: A modelled assumption that every 2023 to 2026 season satisfies; it is why clubs like Essendon play most of their big games at the MCG.