2026 AFL Cairns Fixture
AFL Cairns is pleased to announce the 2026 Season Fixture. Commencing with a split Round 1, on the 3rd of April and 11th of April. It will be the minor premiers, Port Douglas v premiers, North Cairns at Port Douglas on Good Friday. A regular in the calendar and an event not to be missed over the Easter Weekend.
The 2026 Fixture will feature 5 themed rounds across the season, including Legacy Round across ANZAC weekend, Indigenous Round, headspace Cairns Mental Health Round, Community Umpiring Week and Pride Round.
Football Operations Manager Brad Channon said “it is an exciting time of the year to be able to share all of the hard work and planning that goes into developing the fixture. Most pleasing is to be able to reconnect with our community organisations, to use football as a vehicle for connection and change. Our partnership with Legacy FNQ enters its fourth year, a huge achievement, growing on their recent successful acquisition of land for a Legacy House in Smithfield”.
headspace Cairns Mental Health Round is set to have greater impact in season 2026, with clubs having exclusive access to education content to support their community, a community breakfast and match day activations across the round.
Our players will also have opportunities to play representative football in 2026 with the Genesis Health and Fitness All Stars match returning again throughout Indigenous Round, whilst there will be another Representative Opportunity through AFL Queensland with details to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
The season will wrap up with the 2026 Finals Series commencing on Friday 4th of September, with the Grand Final to be held on the 19th of September at Cazalys Stadium. With a crowd of approximately 4000 people in 2025, AFL Cairns is excited to continue the growth of the league and to showcase the immense talent that is across all of our competitions.
A final, and exciting aspect that will be delivered in 2026, is the first AFL Cairns Inclusive All Abilities Program that will be run across season 2026. A new venture for the league will see participants with an intellectual or physical disability have the ability to play AFL in Cairns. The program will be split across two phases, with phase one focusing on participation and skill development, whilst phase two will focus on club integration and match day experience, where modified games will be played throughout the day during senior competition. “As a parent to a child with a disability, this is something that is close to my heart, and I am excited that we are going to be able to bring so many wonderful adults and kids, the ability to play our great game,” Channon said. For more information on the All Abilities program, email Brad Channon at brad@aflcairns.com.au. Expressions of Interest and more details will be released soon.
The fixture can be found on PlayHQ at https://www.playhq.com/afl/org/afl-cairns/43462797.
For any questions please contact:
Brad Channon
Football Operations Manager
brad@aflcairns.com.au
