THE AFL has confirmed there will be 100 per cent capacity at stadiums in Victoria for the opening round of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season. 

The Kangaroos' season opener against Hawthorn will mark the first time the club has played in front of a crowd at the MCG in almost three years, since round three, 2019.

>> Check out the Kangaroos' 2022 AFL fixture here and sync the fixture to your calendar

Round one will kick off with the rematch of last year's Grand Final between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs on Wednesday March 16, with all 10 Victorian teams to play in Melbourne in the opening round of the season. 

Carlton and Richmond will again clash on Thursday night, while St Kilda and Collingwood take centre stage on Friday night at Marvel Stadium.

Geelong plays Essendon in the annual Country Games on Saturday afternoon at the MCG, before Hawthorn and North Melbourne round out the Victorian footy festival on Sunday.

"We want to get big crowds back to the footy, the weekly ritual of being able to go to a game and the sense of community it creates, connecting families and friends is something we have missed in the state," AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said.

"On behalf of the AFL I would like to thank the Victorian State Government, specifically Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula and Minister for Health Martin Foley for continuing to work with us and safely get as many fans back to the footy as possible.

"We have a big finish to our AFLW home and away season which again has been warmly embraced by fans and supporters across the state, rolling straight into our AFL season and the Grand Final rematch on the Wednesday night at the MCG.

"Our AFLW finals series and start of our AFL season is an exciting time for fans, we look forward to seeing crowds return to our venues in huge numbers as well as to all the surrounding business and venues that rely on footy and big events being staged across the city.

"Footy can hopefully help bring the heartbeat of the city back to Melbourne and back to the state of Victoria."

Club members will be able to return to scanning their membership at the gate, and general public walk-ups will be available at the venues.
 
Ticketing on-sale information will be released in the coming weeks.
 
Per Victorian Government guidelines, attendees will be required to check-in in with the Services
Victoria app to confirm their vaccination status on entry to the venue. 
 
Masks will be required when moving around stadiums with more than 30,000 fans, however not when fans are seated outdoors.