Why the AFL has booted men’s footy from its most lucrative timeslot

AdvertisementAnalysis SportAFLAFLW Why the AFL has booted men’s footy from its most lucrative timeslot Sam McClure August 10, 2026 — 4:09pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Four days later, there will be no men’s AFL match on Thursday night, with Melbourne and Hawthorn instead afforded clear air for their AFLW fixture. So the decision to clear men’s footy from that timeslot to showcase the AFLW will cost hundreds of thousands of viewers. AdvertisementThe AFLW game between Carlton and St Kilda rated 147,000 nationally, overlapping with the men’s West Coast-Collingwood match. The previous Sunday afternoon men’s game between Gold Coast and Melbourne rated 402,000.