\n News\n <\/p>\n
\n Melbourne’s first hit out of 2026 has been locked in.\n <\/p>\n
MELBOURNE\u2019S pre-season preparations will step up a gear on Friday 20 February, with the Dees set to take on North Melbourne in a match simulation at Casey Fields.<\/p>\n
The hit-out will be Melbourne\u2019s first match simulation against external opposition this pre-season, offering a valuable opportunity for players to build match fitness as preparations continue for the 2026 AFL season.<\/p>\n
The match simulation will begin at 4.30pm and will be played under modified conditions, with no limit on players or rotations. The contest will consist of four 25-minute quarters, with the clock stopping after goals only.<\/p>\n
Quarter breaks will be set at six minutes for the first and third intervals, with a 15-minute main break, while a two-minute scenario will be played at the end of the second and fourth quarters using full match timing.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Casey Demons will also be in action at Casey Fields, featuring in a match simulation starting at 2.30pm.<\/p>\n
The VFL hit-out will consist of three 25-minute quarters, with six-minute breaks between each period.<\/p>\n
Fans attending Casey Fields can also enjoy a range of partner activations, activities and food trucks throughout the day, including face painting, Demon Shop and membership activations, SEDA inflatables, the Demon Army sausage sizzle, and a carnival ride, making it a great day out for the whole family.<\/p>\n
For those unable to attend, every match simulation will be broadcast exclusively live on Fox Footy, available via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News Melbourne’s first hit out of 2026 has been locked in. MELBOURNE\u2019S pre-season preparations will step up a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-448398","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","14":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448398","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=448398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}