The Western Australian Football Commission has announced the 2025 WAFL and WAFLW season fixtures, with the 2025 season set to have a new look. 

The WAFL season starts on Saturday April 5th, with five matches scheduled to take place. 

During the opening round, Reigning premiers Peel Thunder will reveal their 2024 flag in front of their supporters at Lane Group Stadium against Claremont. Meanwhile co-tenants Subiaco and East Perth will go head to head under the lights at Sullivan Logistics Stadium. 

More clubs are set to embrace the Saturday night fixture, largely due to infrastructure updates at a host of grounds, enabling these fixtures to happen.  

Speaking on SportFM after Friday’s fixture release, WAFC’s Head of WAFL Compeitions Luke Sanders says the night fixtures have received a positive response. 

“I think with the new infrastructure going to clubs with Perth, Joondalup and then Leederville, getting some upgrades to lights, it opens up a new opportunity for the WAFL footy, both in the men’s and the women’s space. 

The clubs have really embraced the opportunity to play night footy and especially in the first part of the year when you’ve got a number of different teams that are a number of different grades and you’re trying to fit into one match day. 

“The lights provide a good opportunity to play league footy at the prime time slot.” 

The WA public will be treated to its traditional WAFL fixtures and rivalries, with the ANZAC Day long weekend and WA Day Derbies fixtures pencilled in. Ideally, one or two regional fixtures are also on the cards for the 2025 season. 

The ANZAC Day matches will be played on Saturday April 26th over the long weekend, while the WA Day Derbies will take place in Round 8 over the long weekend. 

East Fremantle will host South Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, while East Perth and West Perth will also battle it out on the Monday public holiday.

Sanders says the WAFL aims to maximise attendance for these traditional fixtures.

“They’re traditionally really great games to attend and hopefully the weather is favorable for us this year. It wasn’t last year,” he said.

“The June long weekend is a really traditional fixture within the WAFL landscape and we look to try and maximize that from an attendance point of view. 

“We pray that we get some really nice weather that weekend to enable the WAFL supporters and generally just new supporters of football that may have nothing to do on that June long weekend to come out and support WAFL matches.”

The WAFLW commences on March 29th – the latest the WAFLW has started since 2019 when it was a four team competition. 

Reigning Premiers Claremont will have a bye in Round 1 and will kick off their season in Round 2 against West Perth in Joondalup. 

The Women’s competition will also expand out to nine teams, with the addition of Perth in 2025, who are set to play their maiden game against Peel in Round 1 at Lane Group Stadium. 

Sanders says returning to the traditional winter timeslot and aligning with the men’s season is an ‘exciting move.’

“The women’s season has moved around since its inception as WAFLW and trying to sort of keep up to pace with where the AFLW season was going to land,” he said. 

“It’s sort of been flipping around that fixture and start and end days for WAFL Women for a number of years now. 

“With Perth coming in for the first time and having a 19 weeks 18 rounds is really exciting to be able to move that season back towards a traditional winter slot. It assists us with heat policies, trying to play games in February is really demanding on players and staff and umpires. 

“We look to try and move that back so the grand final will be played on the last round of the WAFL fixture and then we’ll lead into the WAFL finals after. 

“That gives a great opportunity for the WAFL comp to bring together men’s and women’s competitions and then celebrate that at a joint Sandover and Women’s awards night at the end of the year which will be really exciting.” 

IMAGE: WAFL