What is not known

This standing chapter lists gaps from the release notes. It covers unknown facts, missing checks and things the model deliberately leaves out.

Things the AFL has not announced

• The 2027 start date. The model has Wednesday 17 March and Thursday 18 March calendars. Only Round 1 differs. Neither includes an Opening Round, because none has been announced.
• The 2027 broadcast details. Saturday windows and live-return rounds use the reported 2025 deal as a labelled assumption. Delayed-game quotas are unpublished. The model reports counts beside 2025 figures without enforcing those quotas.
• Confirmed ground availability. The model avoids known bookings but has no confirmation that any ground is free for any of the 207 games.

Things the model does not record as announced facts

• Kickoff times. Each game has a weekday and time band. Later versions also record assumed start times, marked modelled. They are not announced times.
• TV coverage. From 18 September, versions record a proposed free-to-air allocation. Earlier versions have none.
• Viewing predictions. A model helps choose TV slots. Its predictions use model units, not measured viewer counts, and are not published here. Games without predictions keep reference slots and stay out of the slot search. Missing predictions remain unknown, never zero.

Things the model leaves out

• Finals. They have different rest rules and are not modelled.
• The floating fixture. The AFL decides some late-season slots during the season. This model fixes every date.
• Crowds and ticket revenue. A proposed attendance model failed its pre-set test and was not adopted. Nothing here estimates a crowd.
• Commercial and club conversations. The model cannot see these. Its prime-time choices follow a declared appeal policy, limited by its inputs.

Limits of the checks

• Four rules do not apply. Three concern Opening Round and one concerns five-day breaks in finals. They are not passes.
• Earlier versions have more unchecked rules. The first preview checked eight rules. Forty-six were switched off because their checkers did not exist yet.
• Every release is incomplete. Some rules still rely on labelled assumptions instead of sourced 2027 facts. The status stays until those facts replace the assumptions.

Results that look odd

The realism report compares each club’s weekdays, slots, home grounds and longest run without a home game against 2023 to 2026. Each severe flag in the current release has a stated reason:

• Essendon has no Friday-night games on either calendar.
• Port Adelaide has few Saturday nights on the Wednesday calendar because some games lack viewing predictions.
• Western Australia has seven rounds without a game, compared with the AFL’s recent two or three. The current round structure needs that exception.
• Brisbane Lions have seven short breaks after interstate games on the Thursday calendar, more than in recent seasons. Every players’ rest rule is met.

How to read a gap

Not recorded means the field exists but is empty. Unknown means we looked and could not find out. Not modelled means we chose to leave it out. Zero means we counted something and found none.

The site keeps these meanings separate.