Updated July 29, 2026 — 4:53pm,first published 12:37pmIn today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:The AFL has come out in defence of the wildcard round at the release of rounds 23 and 24 of the fixture.Ross Lyon says St Kilda will back Max King all the way in his recovery from injury and will not trade him.Tom Harley has backed in the AFL’s wildcard round, despite the introduction of the new finals system depriving the competition of a tantalising finish to the home-and-away competition.The league released the final two rounds of the season on Wednesday, and fell short of delivering meaningful clashes to round out the competition on the closing Sunday.Big game: Nick Watson and his Hawks will have a huge game against Collingwood to deal with.AFL PhotosInstead, teams still clambering for a top 10 finish – St Kilda, Carlton and GWS – will know their fate by the Saturday night, a fixturing necessity to avoid them playing wildcard finals off a shortened break.Under the old system, a top eight, the season would have been hurtling towards a thrilling finale.The three final Sunday matches are hardly blockbusters – Essendon (17th) versus Port Adelaide (15th) at Marvel Stadium, Sydney (second) hosting North Melbourne (13th) at the SCG, and Hawthorn (third) facing West Coast (16th) in Perth.With four rounds remaining, just two games separates fourth and ninth positions – Brisbane Lions (52), Adelaide (48), Melbourne (48), Western Bulldogs (48), Collingwood (46) and Geelong (44).But this year it is all about making the top six and earning a week’s break, as teams that finish seventh and eighth will launch straight into the wildcard games against ninth and 10th.“I’m really comfortable with the way it’s landed, and really comfortable and excited about what the prospect of wildcard finals looks like,” the league’s chief operating officer Harley said.“I would say clearly the challenge will be thrown to those sides competing in the wildcard that they will have to win five in a row to get there (winning a premiership). But it wasn’t that long ago that four in a row was impossible.“There’s no doubt that there’s significant benefit in finishing in the top six. There’s significant benefit finishing in the top four, and to be fair, significant benefit finishing in the top two.“But, if I was one of those teams, if I was involved in one of those clubs, if I had to win five in a row, I’d take that opportunity every day of the week.”The league released details of the final 18 AFL games across rounds 23 and 24 on Wednesday, which included two games at the MCG in one day, several doubleheaders involving AFLW sides and a tough ride home for Collingwood, who face back-to-back six-day breaks.Among the schedule is a massive Saturday, August 15 at the MCG in round 23, when St Kilda and Richmond have the early afternoon game, before Hawthorn and Collingwood do battle at night. The Saints are clinging to hopes of a wildcard berth, while the Hawks and Magpies have flag ambitions.Flag contenders Fremantle and Adelaide will feature in a Friday night blockbuster in round 23, while North Melbourne will host an AFL and AFLW double header at Marvel Stadium. The Kangaroos’ reigning AFLW premiership side will take to the field at 1pm AEST against Geelong, before the men host the Cats from 3.45pm.In what shapes as one of the games of the round, the Western Bulldogs will host Carlton in a September-shaping clash at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, August 16. The Bulldogs still have aspirations to finish in the top six, while the Blues are hunting a wildcard berth.The AFL is keen to get the AFLW season going with double headers. On Sunday, August 16, GWS’ men’s team will host West Coast at Engie Stadium, before the Giants’ women play the Eagles.A highlight of round 24 will be the Friday night blockbuster between the Magpies and the Brisbane Lions at the MCG.The Blues’ season could be decided on the Saturday afternoon of round 24 when they host the Dockers at Marvel Stadium.On Saturday night, the Cats will host Richmond at GMHBA Stadium. The Crows will end their home-and-away season against the Giants at Adelaide Oval.- Danny Russell and Jon PierikClick for the fixture here.‘We are not trading you’: Ross Lyon to luckless gun forwardDanny RussellRoss Lyon has doubled down on his support for the injury-prone Max King, saying the Saints would consider sending the “devastated” key forward overseas in search of a remedy to his ongoing ailments.Max King was injured in his AFL comeback game.AFL PhotosKing, 26, made his long-awaited return to senior football in St Kilda’s 31-point victory over North Melbourne on Sunday – his first AFL game in 757 days – but was ruled out with hamstring tightness just 13 minutes into the third term.Lyon said he spoke with King on Monday to assure the former No.4 draft pick, “I’m all in with you here, mate, we’re all in this together”.“[King] is seeing the specialist as we speak,” Lyon said at his weekly press conference on Wednesday. “You look at Dubai, is it Red Bull [training camp], is it that? There’s all of that.“When he got out of here and away from the noise – and I know everyone is concerned with his mental health, even though we keep making him the topic of conversation, bagging lots of things about it – but it really is opportunity for him.“He’s got a long period [of recovery] now, he’ll do a full pre-season, [and] be at our first day back ready to go. The real issue is the underlining deconditioning of an athlete after repairing cartilage, [after] four months of no work, [only to] build him up for four months and then it tears.“All players will tell you, if you get in the main program you become bulletproof almost, and if you’re out of it like this, it’s like a yoyo, and you just need a bit of luck to get continuity.”Lyon said King was emotionally vulnerable because he had given everything, and it did not work out.“We had a really good conversation Monday, and I said, ‘I might be a lot of things, but I support my players’,” Lyon said.“I said, ‘I’m all in with you here, mate, we’re in this together and in the context of the real world, this is not a catastrophe. I can catastrophise myself, and I am not going to allow you to – you’re a great family, we’ll get this right, it’s a hamstring’.“We’ve experienced what he’s got and rehabbed Liam Henry, and Jamie Elliott has had these hammies. I remember there was a period Nathan Buckley did eight hammies in a row at the back end of his career.“Charlie Curnow played two games in two years, so is it ideal? No. Will we get him right? Yes.“His knee is in great shape, what’s good is we all saw what he looks like and what it feels like, he smelt it.“I said, ‘Mate, we’re on our knees, but we’re not bowed, we’ll be back and I’m with you – we’re not trading you’.“Those with a seat at the table – our board, me, Max, his parents and his manager – we’re all in. Everyone else is just making noise.“You haven’t got a seat at the table, you have no influence, you have no say. We’re in it together with Max and we’ll get through this.”Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.From our partners