AFL fixture 2025: Date finalised for first western derby clash of season between West Coast and Fremantle

West Coast and Fremantle fans will not have to wait long for their first taste of derby action next year, with the AFL set to announce a round three clash between WA’s two AFL teams at Optus Stadium. The Eagles will host the Dockers at 3.10pm WST on Sunday, March 30 in the 60th western derby. Both of this year’s derbies, in round six and 20, were played on Saturdays. While the early date is good news for metropolitan based members, the time slot will not please country and regional fans who will have to return home late on the Sunday evening. West Coast hosted this year’s first derby in round six when Harley Reid inspired the Eagles to a surprise 37-point victory. Reid also starred when the Dockers hosted the derby in round 20 but Fremantle reversed the result with a 35-point when Caleb Serong secured a third Glendinning-Allan Medal. The derby date will be confirmed on Thursday morning WST when the AFL releases its full fixtures for next season. The Eagles are also tipped to travel to Marvel Stadium to play Hawthorn in round seven, setting up a potential clash with former defender Tom Barrass in his new colours. In other 2025 fixture news, Fremantle will host two Thursday night games in a season for the first time ever, with the AFL ramping up its presence in the weekday timeslot. While the Eagles have been snubbed for the Thursday night timeslot up til round 15, there will be another seven opportunities as part of the late-season floating fixture. The Dockers’ Thursday night clashes are blockbuster home fixtures at home, against Collingwood in round nine on May 8 and Essendon in round 15 on June 19. Fremantle has played only three times on Thursday nights for premiership points, the most recent a 69-point loss to Geelong at Optus in 2021. Sydney and GWS are the two other clubs without a Thursday night game up until round 15. “There has been a strong desire from fans and our broadcast partners for more Thursday night football and we are excited to be able to deliver in spades next season,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said. There will be 23 Thursday night games in 2025, up from 14 this season and 12 the previous two years. As revealed in The West Australian on Wednesday, North Melbourne will “host” West Coast in Bunbury early next June before it plays a second relocated home game against Fremantle a week later at Optus Stadium. The North Melbourne-West Coast game will be played at in round 13 on Sunday, June 8 at a revamped Hands Oval in Bunbury, before the Roos face the Dockers in round 14 on Saturday, June 14 at Optus Stadium. Both fixtures will be day games but times are not yet locked in. The game at Optus Stadium will net North Melbourne about $1.2 million, with the State Government lifting the purse to more than $2 million for the South West clash that aligns with Tourism WA’s promotion of Jetstar’s direct flights between Melbourne and Busselton. The Roos will earn more than $6 million over the course of the deal. Importantly, it gives the Dockers and Eagles an extra game in their home state and one less week of travel, offering welcome respite as the two WA clubs have been forced to pay an additional round trip over the past two years due to the introduction of Gather Round in South Australia. Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick welcomed the extra WA game, with the Dockers and Eagles playing alternate trips to Bunbury across the three years. “Not only does it bring more footy content to WA but it allows the WA clubs to travel one less game each year, which is significant,” Garlick said. “We’ve made no secret in … our advocacy of that. The competition is based on competitive balance and equity. “There is a significant disparity from a travel perspective and while today’s not the day to talk about that, we think this goes in part to assisting that process. “The fact we now have 14 games with your away derby in the State makes a difference. “You have got Victorian teams in reality who play 16 or 17 games in their home State so for us that’s a hard concept to comprehend.” Eagles CEO Don Pyke has worked closely with Garlick over the past 12 months to address the fixture imbalance. “Another game at home … we will continue to propagate that as a need going forward but it’s great we get two more games here,” he said. “I know the locals (in Bunbury) are pumped about the opportunity and we are really excited to see how many we can fit in there. “That’s going to be challenge. It’s not going to be filling it up, it’s going to be how many we can fit inside the stadium.” Fremantle flew 62,000km this sesaon, while the Eagles jetted about 58,000km. Some Victorian clubs travelled less than 15,000km. The Bunbury game will be played on Victoria’s June long weekend, which the WA Government hopes will drive tourism to the South West. North Melbourne has now taken the first big step in securing its post-Tasmania future with the two games in WA from next season and another two returning to its AFL heartland from 2026 when they will play nine home matches at Marvel Stadium. The club will begin its transition out of Tasmania in 2025, hosting two AFL matches – down from four in 2024 – and two AFLW home games in Tasmania across the year as part of the club’s pre-existing agreement. North Melbourne’s AFL team will completely exit Tasmania at the end of 2025. North Melbourne CEO Jen Watt revealed the Kangaroos had looked at playing the games overseas as well as other Australian states. “We really looked far and wide, spoke to a number of governments, regional Victoria, other States even other countries about what that could look like,” Watt said. “For us, Western Australia was a clear standout in terms of what it can offer our club, reduced overall travel, a terrific financial model for us and two games eventually back to our Melbourne heartland. “We have our largest supporter base in Western Australia outside Victoria with 10,000 supporters over here. “We are looking forward to engaging with them on a deeper level.” Watt said they were open to the possibly of extending the partnership at the end of the three-year deal. “I see this as being a long-term, terrific arrangement. We’ll get to that when we see how these first couple of years go,” she said. Reigning premier Brisbane will launch the new season on March 6 with a clash against Geelong at the Gabba as part of Opening Round which will again showcase the nation’s game to the northern states with four matches in four days across New South Wales and Queensland. All sides that feature in Opening Round will be given a bye within the first five weeks.