AFL round 5 fixtures, odds and early tips

William Demamp

Sports News

April 7, 2026

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Adelaide faces an early season litmus test when they host under-the-gun Carlton at the Adelaide Oval in AFL action on Thursday night. 

The Crows will kick off “Gather Round” desperately needing a win after winning just one of their opening four fixtures, despite being a pre-season premiership fancy. 

The Crows are a heavy favourite for the clash at 1.16 with Australian betting sites, while the struggling Blues (5.25) are not receiving much love.

Carlton has began matches well in 2026 before fading out in second halves, while Adelaide has began strongly, but struggled to hold off rampaging teams late, like thier last up loss to Fremantle. 

“It’s a big challenge for us, starting games and to not leave it too late to find our game and then almost try to fall across the line in the end,” Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said.

“It’s a work on, it’s not an unknown, it’s pretty clear what we aren’t getting right in the first half, and the contest (against Fremantle) was not where it needed to be.

“With Carlton, if you put the games together this year, 500 minutes I think they’ve played or there about’s of footy, I think they’ve led for nearly 400 minutes,

“Their first halves have been outstanding, they’re one of the best starting teams in the competition… We’ve got our work cut out for us because we’re not necessarily starting well, so we’ve got a real focus on the start of the game and how we go about that.”

They  face a Blues team, who may not have the weight of expectation, but are equally as desperate to notch up their second victory of the year, after their latest capitulation came against North Melbourne. 

The Blues task will be even harder after star defender Jacob Weitering suffered a concussion against the Roos and will join fellow key defender Harry Dean on the sidelines, the week they play arguably the AFL’s best forward line. 

The Crows will again be without key forward Darcy Fogarty with a back injury, which is compounded by the struggles of Riley Thilthorpe, who is rumoured to have an injury of his own. 

They will be boosted by the inclusion of Isaac Cumming after he was a late withdrawal last round with illness. 

On Friday night, Collingwood (2.45) is expected to be boosted by the inclusion of Brownlow Medal fancy Nick Daicos against Fremantle (1.55) for their Adelaide Oval fixture, after he was a late withdrawal prior to his team’s thrashing at the hand’s of Brisbane. 

The Magpies could also regain veteran Scott Pendlebury after an achilles complaint, but skipper Darcy Moore is at least a few more games away with a hamstring injury. 

The Magpies will consider giving young key forward Charlie West a run after a strong game at VFL level. 

The Dockers are unlikely to make many changes to the team that won a heartstopping contest against Adelaide by two points, with star midfielder Hayden Young still at least a fortnight away. 

North Melbourne’s improvement will be given a stern test against Brisbane in Saturday’s early game, with the Roos in a buoyant mood after their stirring come-from-behind win against Carlton. 

The Roos will face an undermanned Brisbane team but they could be bolstered by skipper Harris Andrews and midfielder Hugh McCluggage, with the pair overcoming injuries. 

Essendon (3.90) will be hopeful of recording their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon when they clash with Melbourne (1.26), who are fresh off a magnificent upset of the Gold Coast on the road. 

Sydney (1.90) is a narrow favourite for their Saturday twilight fixture against the Gold Coast (1.94) with this clash promising to be a beauty. 

Hawthorn will be hopeful of taking their momentum from their glorious one-point win over Geelong on Monday into their blockbuster fixture against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night. 

On Sunday, Geelong (1.10) is expected to count for West Coast (7.00), but with the clash played at Narwood, anything could happen, especially against an Eagles team that will be desperate for redemption after being smashed on the weekend. 

GWS (1.14) is the bookmakers’ elect for their game against Richmond  5.75), while Port Adelaide (2.28) and St Kilda (1.63) will close out Gather Round. 

AFL round 5 fixtures & early tips

AFL round 5 (Gather Round) will kick off Thursday, April 9 and run until Sunday April 12, with this the first time in 2026 all teams will play a match on the same weekend. We have highlighted our early tips.