{"id":278469,"date":"2025-11-11T21:30:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/278469\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T21:30:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:30:13","slug":"fixture-whispers-additional-game-to-afls-2026-opening-round-fixture-revealed-afl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/278469\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixture whispers: Additional game to AFL’s 2026 Opening Round fixture revealed – AFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

The AFL<\/a> has reprised its Opening Round concept for the 2026 season, making it the third straight year with a strong focus on the northern states.<\/p>\n

However, next season will be a bit different, with St Kilda hosting Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday, March 8 at 7:20pm (AEDT), the eve of the Labour Day public holiday.<\/p>\n

The Pies have been involved in the past two iterations, taking on GWS in Sydney.<\/p>\n

As for the Saints, they have forced their way into the spotlight following their ultra-aggressive trade and free agency period, securing Tom De Koning<\/a> and Jack Silvagni<\/a> from Carlton, as well as acquiring contracted duo Sam Flanders<\/a> and Liam Ryan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena said that the fixture is a strong affirmation of the club’s new direction.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

“We’re really proud to be part of Opening Round. It’s great recognition of the growth of our football club and reflects the excitement of where we’re heading,\u201d Dilena said.<\/p>\n

“To be kicking off our season at the MCG, the home of footy, in such a signature game is a big statement.\u00a0 As a club, we relish the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n

“We’ve worked hard to earn opportunities like this, and there’s real momentum building around this group. We’ve refreshed our list, added exciting talent, and we’re confident in the direction we’re heading.”<\/p>\n

Brisbane, Gold Coast, GWS and Sydney are all expected to host matches in front of home crowds during that weekend.<\/p>\n

Essendon, Geelong and Hawthorn were the clubs, along with Collingwood, who began their 2025 campaign in Opening Round.<\/p>\n

Carlton, Melbourne and Richmond featured the year before.<\/p>\n

More fixture whispers include the Saints being replaced by Essendon on the Easter Sunday evening clash against the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary reported that the Bombers will snare the primetime contest in 2026.<\/p>\n

Veteran journalist Jay Clark also said that the Bulldogs will miss out on their games in Ballarat due to the ongoing construction, and instead will see three pre-season games to “help compensate for the shift”.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

Clark also revealed that Adelaide will continue to open Gather Round, and will host Carlton at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Port Adelaide will close the weekend of football, taking on St Kilda on the Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

The AFL<\/a> will confirm the 2026 fixture on Thursday.<\/p>\n

More to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AFL has reprised its Opening Round concept for the 2026 season, making it the third straight year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-278469","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}