North Melbourne Managing Director & CEO Carl Dilena says the club is pleased with the fixture released today.

“We believe this is a really well balanced draw, and from a commercial standpoint, this is a great result for the club,” Mr Dilena said.

“From a footy point of view, it’s certainly a tough draw, but that was always to be expected after finishing fourth in 2015.”

North will play in five Friday night fixtures in 2016, a timeslot it helped pioneer and is now one of the most sought-after in the AFL.

“Our fans will be pleased to see us playing more games on Friday night this season, as well as several other prime-time games, including four Saturday night matches and a Thursday night game against Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval,” he said.

Mr Dilena said the club’s Tasmanian partnership continued to remain strong, with some blockbuster games headed to the country’s southern most capital.

“We’re also pleased to be making history in 2016, playing the first ever Friday night match in Hobart against Richmond in June. We’re expecting a bumper crowd and know this is going to be a massive occasion for all Tasmanians. It’s also great to be playing against two traditional Victorian teams at Blundstone Arena next season, with both the Tigers and Melbourne heading south, as well as one of the flag favourites in Sydney.”

With Brent Harvey on track to break the AFL games played record in 2016, North Melbourne fans will likely be able to celebrate the milestone in Melbourne.

If Harvey plays every game in 2016, he will break the record against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium in a home fixture for the Roos.

“We’re really happy to see, if all goes to plan, ‘Boomer’ will play his record breaking 427th game at home, with a series of games scheduled in Melbourne towards the latter end of the season.”

According to Dilena, there will be plenty of other reasons to celebrate in 2016.

“Next year will also mark the 20th anniversary of our 1996 Grand Final win and we’ll be able to pay tribute to the Premiership heroes from that match during the year.

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2016 Fixture

RDDATEOPPVENUEH/ATIME*TV
1Sat, Mar 26AdelaideEtihadH7.25pmFox
2Sat, Apr 2BrisbaneGabbaA3.35pmFox
3Sun, Apr 10MelbourneBlundstoneH1.10pmFox
4Sun, Apr 17FremantleEtihadH4.40pmFox
5Sat, Apr 23Gold CoastMetriconA4.35pmFox
6Fri, Apr 29Western BullEtihadH7.50pm7
7Sun, May 8St KildaEtihadA3.20pm7
8Sat, May 14EssendonEtihadA1.45pm7
9Sat, May 21CarltonEtihadH7.25pmFox
10Fri, May 27SydneySCGA7.50pm7
11Fri, Jun 3RichmondBlundstoneH7.50pm7
12Sat, Jun 11GeelongEtihadA7.25pm7
13Fri, Jun 17HawthornEtihadH7.50pm7
14Thurs, Jun 23AdelaideAdel OvalA7.20pm7
15Bye     
16Sun, Jul 10West CoastDomainA1.20pm7
17Sat, Jul 16Port AdelaideEtihadH4.35pmFox
18Fri, Jul 22CollingwoodEtihadA7.50pm7
19Sat, Jul 30St KildaEtihadH7.25pm7
20Sat, Aug 6Western BullEtihadA7.25pm7
21Sat, Aug 13HawthornMCGA2.10pmFox
22Sat, Aug 20SydneyBlundstoneH1.45pm7
23 TBCGWS GiantsEtihadHTBCTBC

* All times listed are local.

2016 Timeslots

TIMESLOTHOMEAWAYTOTAL
Thurs night011
Fri night325
Sat afternoon123
Sat twilight123
Sat night325
Sun early101
Sun afternoon022
Sun twilight101
TBC1 1
TOTAL111122