Dear Members and Fans,  

I’m writing to let you know that North Melbourne has entered into an agreement to play two AFL home games per year for the next three years in Western Australia.   

In 2025, we will play West Coast in Bunbury in Round 13 on Sunday, June 8 and Fremantle at Optus Stadium in Round 14 on Saturday, June 14.

As a result, we have amended our agreement with the Spirit of Tasmania to reduce our home games in Hobart in 2025 from four to two. From 2026, these two home games will return to Marvel Stadium.   

This means that in 2025, we will play seven home games at Marvel, two in Hobart, and two in WA.  

In 2026 and 2027, there will be nine home games at Marvel, and two in WA.  

This announcement will signal different things to different North people. For our Victorian-based supporters – joy that home games are returning to Marvel from 2026.   

Tasmanian supporters – disappointment at losing some home games a year earlier than anticipated. And for our Western Australian supporters, an opportunity to engage with our club on a whole new level.  

Regardless of where you are based, for all North people, this announcement is a significant pillar in our club’s future.  

Importantly, the two WA games will provide the same financial return to the club as four games in Tasmania – critical as we continue to develop our club on and off the field.    

Quite simply, playing home matches outside of Melbourne for a commercial return is a core part of our financial model – as it is for a number of Melbourne-based clubs – and has been for decades. And until we have a reliable non-football revenue source, that is unlikely to change.   

In the meantime, the club continues to build a strong and enduring base off-field. The two key elements supporting this are how we position ourselves in the Arden Precinct development, and our Next Generation Academy talent and fan development zones in and around North Melbourne and Wyndham, one of the fastest growing areas in Victoria.   

The results from this work won’t be quick and it won’t be easy, but we’ll do it the way we always have – carefully, strategically, and together. That’s how we paid off historic debt, built a facility, and are now planning for our future – all while fully funding our football department and the quest for silverware.  

Jen Watt and her team have been doing lots of painstaking work on all of these projects, negotiating for several months with the Western Australian government and clubs, the AFL, and – critically – our longstanding Tasmanian partners, particularly Spirit of Tasmania.    

The negotiations only concluded this week – and as a result the club has not been able to comment publicly on speculation until now. For some of you this will have been unsettling, and I hope this letter and today’s announcement from the club helps fill the gaps.   

For those of you who will be immediately affected by the changes – particularly our Tasmanian and WA members – shortly you will receive clear information from the club outlining what these matchday changes mean for you.    

>> FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: What the agreement means for Tasmanian and WA-based members

Finally – you’ll have noticed I haven’t mentioned AFLW. We’re still working through what will happen once the current arrangement with Events Tasmania comes to an end at the end of 2025. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at IKON Park the weekend after next for the AFLW Preliminary Final.   

Go Roos!