Updated August 23, 2026 — 10:31pm,first published 1:51pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. AAA A Western Bulldogs-Collingwood showdown on Friday night and Melbourne to take on Carlton the following night will feature in the AFL’s inaugural wildcard weekend. The Bulldogs’ upset
Updated ,first published
A Western Bulldogs-Collingwood showdown on Friday night and Melbourne to take on Carlton the following night will feature in the AFL’s inaugural wildcard weekend.
The Bulldogs’ upset win over the Demons on Saturday and Adelaide’s thumping of the Giants later that night confirmed the match-ups.
The AFL waited to announce which match will be played in each timeslot until after Hawthorn’s big win against West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday night.
That is relevant to the wildcard fixture because the team that finishes fifth will play the ladder’s lowest advancing team, while sixth will play the higher-ranked team of the winners.
THE MATCH-UPS
- Friday, 28th August: Wildcard Final – Western Bulldogs v Collingwood. MCG, 7.40pm AEST
- Saturday, 29th August: Wildcard Final – Melbourne v Carlton. MCG, 7.35pm AEST
Hawthorn’s win tonight mean the Hawks finish fourth with the Cats fifth and Adelaide sixth.
Because all wildcard teams are Victorian, the likely outcome of a Hawks win on Sunday night would mean one team would have to travel to Adelaide – which caused the delay in the league’s wildcard announcement as it works through potential fixturing for the next week of the finals series.
Watson takes jaw-dropping mark as Hawks crush Eagles
Jack Gunston kicked five goals in his 300-game milestone and Nick Watson took a spectacular mark of the year contender as Hawthorn’s bid to snare third spot fell just short in a 62-point win over West Coast in Perth.
Hawthorn entered Sunday night’s match needing to win in the vicinity of 90-100 points to leapfrog Brisbane into third spot.
That would have meant the Hawks (15-6-2) would face the decimated Swans in Sydney in the first qualifying final instead of minor premiers Fremantle in Perth.
Things were looking good for Hawthorn when they skipped out to an 83-25 lead midway through the third quarter following Watson’s moment of magic.
Aptly nicknamed The Wizard, Watson leapt onto the shoulders of Liam Baker and pushed off powerfully with his legs to take a spectacular midair mark before crashing to the turf.
In the immediate aftermath, Baker and Watson smiled at each other in disbelief as they soaked up the moment, with Watson giving his opponent a hug after nailing the shot.
But the wet and slippery conditions meant Hawthorn always faced an uphill battle to push the margin towards triple figures, with the Hawks forced to eventually settle for a 16.11 (107) to 6.9 (45) win in front of 43,066 fans at Optus Stadium.
Hawthorn still finished fourth, earning a finals double chance for the first time since 2018.
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