![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/5bf4b95ef2262fa3ee8c8ee2dc45a28039d22aab.jpg\")
Camera IconAndrew Brayshaw. Credit: Daniel Carson\/AFL Photos\/AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\nWest Coast and Fremantle will face off in the 62nd western derby on Sunday, April 19 next season, in what will be a welcome respite from the road for both teams the week after Gather Round.<\/p>\n
But WA fans will have to wait three weeks into the season to see the Eagles and Dockers play at Optus Stadium.<\/p>\n
Fremantle will tackle Melbourne on Saturday, March 21 in round two in their first home game of the season, followed by West Coast and North Melbourne at Optus Stadium the following day.<\/p>\n
The Eagles and Dockers will be forced to open their season on the road as Optus Stadium hosts a Women\u2019s Asian Cup soccer semifinal just days after the AFL\u2019s round one.<\/p>\n
The AFL will again launch the new football year with Opening Round when star Sydney recruit Charlie Curnow is expected to face his old team Carlton on Thursday, March 5.<\/p>\n
The full fixture will be released on Thursday and continues a tough run for the Dockers in season openers.<\/p>\n
Fremantle has played just one home opener since Justin Longmuir\u2019s first season in charge in 2020 – the fewest of any club in their home state.<\/p>\n
The Dockers, however, have hit the jackpot in Gather Round, locked into a Friday night marquee slot for a blockbuster showdown against Collingwood, while West Coast will take on Geelong at Norwood Oval in the round five fixtures in South Australia.<\/p>\n
The derby the following weekend will offer road relief for both teams.<\/p>\n
The Eagles suffered an 81-point loss to GWS in Sydney the week before Gather Round this year, while Fremantle lost by six points to Melbourne at the MCG the week after.<\/p>\n
The AFL announced the Gather Round dates on Wednesday, with Adelaide and Port Adelaide book-ending the SA festival, which will be held for the fourth successive season, with the Crows to host Carlton on Thursday, April 9 and the Power to play St Kilda on the Sunday night.<\/p>\n
The Dockers\u2019 Friday night blockbuster against Collingwood follows their low-key win over Richmond in the Barossa Valley this year.<\/p>\n
The Dockers\u2019 clash with the Magpies represents the sole SA match-up between two clubs that registered a top-eight finish in 2025, and comes amid the clubs playing out a series of thrilling games against one another over the past two seasons.<\/p>\n
Fremantle produced an epic one-point comeback win against Collingwood at the MCG earlier this year, while the Pies scored a gutsy 14-point triumph at Optus Stadium in the previous 2025 match-up.<\/p>\n
The teams played out a thrilling draw on a Friday night stage in Perth the year prior.<\/p>\n
The fixture represents a rare chance for a Friday night road clash for the Dockers.<\/p>\n
Camera IconAndrew Brayshaw. Credit: Daniel Carson\/AFL Photos\/AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The club has played in the marquee slot away from home just three times in the past decade, including last season\u2019s ugly thrashing at the hands of St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.<\/p>\n
West Coast have lost six consecutive games against the Cats, including a 47-point loss in a match-up between the sides at Adelaide Oval during the first Gather Round in 2023.<\/p>\n
The Eagles haven\u2019t beaten Geelong away from WA since 2006.<\/p>\n
Gather Round tickets go on sale for members on December 4, with general public tickets available the following day.<\/p>\n
GATHER ROUND FIXTURE<\/p>\n
(All times WA)<\/p>\n
Thursday, April 9<\/p>\n
Adelaide v Carlton, Adelaide Oval, 5.40pm<\/p>\n
Friday, April 10<\/p>\n
Collingwood v Fremantle, Adelaide Oval, 5.40pm<\/p>\n
Saturday, April 11<\/p>\n
North Melbourne v Brisbane, Barossa Park, 10.35am<\/p>\n
Essendon v Melbourne, Adelaide Oval, 11.15am<\/p>\n
Sydney v Gold Coast, Norwood Oval, 2.15pm<\/p>\n
Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs, Adelaide Oval, 5.35pm<\/p>\n
Sunday, April 12<\/p>\n
Geelong v West Coast, Norwood Oval, 10.30am<\/p>\n
GWS v Richmond, Barossa Park, 1.15pm<\/p>\n
Port Adelaide v St Kilda, Adelaide Oval, 5.05pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West Coast and Fremantle will face off in the 62nd western derby on Sunday, April 19 next season,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,10124,588,85,7067],"class_list":{"0":"post-279709","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-fremantle-dockers","14":"tag-sport","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-west-coast-eagles"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279709","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=279709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}