The 2026 NAB AFLW fixture is out, and the season will start on August 9 with 12 rounds packed with rematches, reunions and rivalries. Among the headline games are Adelaide’s trip to Sydney in Round 1, Brisbane’s meeting with Adelaide in Round 6 and Carlton’s final-round date with the Lions.
Adelaide opens against Sydney on Sunday, August 16 at Unley Oval in a game that marks the first match of the Ryan Davis era. It will also be the first time the Crows line up without inaugural star Anne Hatchard in the Round 1 spotlight. Sydney is now under Colin O'Riordan, giving the early-season clash an added layer as both clubs try to set their tone for the year.
One week earlier, Collingwood will host Richmond at Ikon Park on Saturday, August 15, in another opening-round game with more weight than the ladder positions suggest. The Magpies finished 15th in 2025 and won just three games, then turned over 11 players after the season, with nine delisted and two traded. They have also moved to reshape the group with rookie signings Olivia Lewis and Maisie Nankivell, plus Irish recruit Ellie Brady.
The rivalry that still defines the competition lands in Round 6, when Brisbane hosts Adelaide at Brighton Homes Arena on Sunday, September 20. It will be the 15th time the teams have met, extending a contest that has already produced 14 meetings, 11 Brisbane wins and seven straight Lions victories dating back to 2022 S7. The two clubs first crossed paths in the league’s opening grand final in 2017, and the fixture now carries the weight of that history every time they meet.
Brisbane’s dominance gives that Round 6 game a sharp edge, but the Lions’ track record against Adelaide goes beyond one venue. They have won the last seven meetings, and the Crows will arrive knowing the recent balance of power has been firmly against them. That makes the trip to Brighton Homes Arena one of the clearest markers of where both clubs sit in 2026.
Elsewhere in the fixture, Essendon gets a chance to test itself against Gold Coast on Sunday, September 20 at Windy Hill, with the Bombers still chasing their first AFLW final. That remains one of the season’s biggest unanswered questions for the club, and the meeting comes as part of a Round 6 slate that will tell a lot about early momentum.
The closing stages are just as pointed. Carlton plays Brisbane in Round 12 on Saturday, October 31 at Brighton Homes Arena, with the final round bringing back a matchup that has already swung both ways. Carlton sensationally beat Brisbane on the Lions’ home deck last year, only for Brisbane to end Carlton’s finals run in November. With no rounds left after that, the rematch could carry real consequence when the season reaches its last weekend.
This is a fixture built around familiar names and unfinished business. Adelaide’s new beginning, Brisbane’s grip on the rivalry, Collingwood’s reset and Essendon’s search for a breakthrough all give the 12-round schedule more bite than a simple list of dates. The games are set. Now the test is whether any of the clubs can turn the story around when the ball is bounced.
