Western Bulldogs, GWS, Fremantle, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Collingwood in bumper final AFL round match-ups

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon expects the tightest finals race in memory to go down to the wire after locking in three crucial fixtures for the final day of the home-and-away season.

The league on Wednesday confirmed the schedule of matches for round 24, which will decide the top eight ahead of the finals.

Up to a dozen teams could still be in the finals hunt at that stage.

A Melbourne-Collingwood Friday night clash will open round 24 at the MCG, while finals contenders Geelong, Hawthorn and Sydney are all in action on the Saturday.

The Brisbane Lions host Essendon at the Gabba on the Saturday night in a contest that could have finals ramifications for both sides.

But the Sunday fixture is the highlight of round 24, starting with the Western Bulldogs hosting GWS in Ballarat.

Finals hopefuls Carlton host St Kilda at the MCG, before Fremantle take on Port Adelaide at Optus Stadium in the last of the 207 home-and-away matches.

“As we sit here now, there’s no team that’s in the top eight that is mathematically locked in,” Dillon told reporters on Wednesday.

“So we’re really looking forward to a big round 24

“We’re hoping that there will be massive live games all the way through the round.”

An early start and late finish means there will be no crossover between the three Sunday matches.

The Richmond-Gold Coast encounter is the only round-24 match guaranteed at this stage to have no bearing on the finals make-up.

It shapes as a celebration of newly-retired great Dustin Martin’s career as the Tigers take on former coach Damien Hardwick for the first time in Melbourne since the triple-premiership mastermind joined the Suns.

The league is hopeful of a big crowd for the dead rubber, noting more than 92,000 turned out for Martin’s 300th game in June.

“I think we’ll see a lot more than we would have if it wasn’t the final game where he is a Richmond player.

“He’s been an incredible player, not only for Richmond but for the competition.”

All top-eight sides will have a bye before week one of the finals again this season, with Dillon saying a “wildcard” round remains an option for future years.

There has been growing support amongst clubs for an extra knockout round leading into the finals, which would effectively be expanded from eight to 10 teams.

“It’s got probably a bit more support than it has had previously but there’s a lot of consultation that we’ll have to go through with our clubs, players and commission,” Dillon said.

“But from small ideas come big things. Gather Round was a thought bubble at one stage and we’ve seen how successful that’s been.

“It’s something that we’d look at but the final eight is tried and tested, and it’s worked for the competition for a long time (since 1994).”

AFL ROUND 24 FIXTURE (Times AEST)

Friday, August 23

Melbourne v Collingwood, MCG, 7.40pm

Saturday, August 24

Geelong v West Coast, GMHBA Stadium, 1.45pm

Richmond v Gold Coast, MCG, 2.10pm

Hawthorn v North Melbourne, Launceston, 4.35pm

Brisbane Lions v Essendon, Gabba, 7.25pm

Sydney v Adelaide, SCG, 7.40pm

Sunday, August 25

Western Bulldogs v GWS, Ballarat, 12.30pm

Carlton v St Kilda, Marvel Stadium, 3.20pm

Fremantle v Port Adelaide, Optus Stadium, 6.10pm (local 4.10pm)