AFL 2022: See the full fixture for next season

The AFL on Thursday locked in the first nine rounds of its AFL season, with the venues and timeslots for rest of the fixture to be unveiled in a floating format to maximise time slots.

Melbourne plays the season opener against the Western Bulldogs, a Round 6 Sunday night Anzac Eve clash against Richmond and two other Thursday or Friday night clashes in the first month of the year.

But it is the radical experiment with Friday night double-headers which the AFL will analyse for ratings and attendance success.

In Round 3 Melbourne hosts Essendon at Marvel Stadium at 7.20pm local time, with Adelaide hosting Port Adelaide on the same night at Adelaide Oval in a game starting at 8.20pm local time (7.50pm Melbourne time).

In Round 8 on Friday night Port Adelaide hosts the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval with Fremantle then hosting Melbourne at Optus Stadium.

Instead of playing an early and late game in those Friday night double-headers, fans will still be forced to choose between which game to play.

Other highlights of the fixture include all 10 Melbourne teams playing against each other in Round 1 as the league attempts to reward Victorian fans after two years of lockdowns.

There will be five Thursday night games to start the season and then likely a chunk of Thursday nighters later in the season across school holidays after 10 of them in 2021.

Brisbane has been handed its Thursday night clash on the Easter weekend against Collingwood at the Gabba, with a Good Friday double-header as North Melbourne hosts the Western Bulldogs then West Coast hosts Sydney.

AFL fixture boss Travis Auld said the league was keen to bring back some tradition after two years of Covid disruption.

“We begin season 2022 with a renewed level of confidence – taking the learnings of the previous year and focusing on delivering fans another blockbuster schedule of matches,” Mr Auld said.

“For supporters it is a chance to get back to doing what we all love, going to the footy with our family and friends.

“On the field, it feels like we are in for another unpredictable season. The competitiveness and the ability for any team to win on any day gave us great confidence in the spread of marquee timeslots to begin the season.”

Originally published as AFL 2022: See the full fixture for next season