North Melbourne’s 2015 AFL fixture has been released, and with it comes a heavy home presence in the early stages of the season.
Four home games in the first six rounds sees the Kangaroos hosting Brisbane (Round 2), Port Adelaide (Round 3), Hawthorn (Round 5) and Richmond (Hobart, Round 6).
North could also be the opponent for Dustin Fletcher’s 400th game in Round 7, with the first Friday night game of the season against Essendon, the side it knocked out of the 2014 finals.
However Brent Harvey is again set to play a milestone game outside of Victoria, with his 400th game, assuming he plays every game, scheduled for the GABBA in Round 17.
Even if Harvey does miss a game early on, all three matches from Rounds 17 to 19 are away from home, against the Lions, at Etihad Stadium against Carlton and a trip across town to the MCG to play Melbourne.
The games against Essendon are North’s only Friday night encounters - a puzzling drop from five in 2014 for a team that made a Preliminary Final. For the first time since 2008, the Kangaroos will not play Carlton on a Friday night, the match pushed across to a Saturday night timeslot.
It’s a fixture that fans will be used to by the time 2014 finishes. North plays four of its home games and seven matches in total on a Saturday night, counting for almost one third of its fixture, with Round 23’s timeslot against Richmond still to be decided.
Five non-Hobart interstate trips take North to Adelaide, Perth, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Western Sydney. It will be the Kangaroos’ second game at Spotless Stadium after their initial trip to face the GWS Giants in the final round of 2012.
In a surprise, North will face Sydney in Melbourne for the first time since 2011, with a Round 11 clash at Etihad Stadium.
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Timeslot | Home matches | Away matches | Total matches |
Friday night | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Saturday afternoon | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Saturday twilight | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Saturday night | 4 | 3 | 7 |
Sunday early | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Sunday afternoon | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Sunday twilight | 1 | 0 | 1 |
TBC | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Home/Away | EST |
1 | Sunday April 5 | Adelaide | Adelaide Oval | Away | 3:20pm |
2 | Sunday April 12 | Brisbane | Etihad Stadium | Home | 4:40pm |
3 | Saturday April 18 | Port Adelaide | Etihad Stadium | Home | 7:20pm |
4 | Sunday April 26 | Geelong | Simonds Stadium | Away | 3:20pm |
5 | Saturday May 2 | Hawthorn | Etihad Stadium | Home | 7:20pm |
6 | Saturday May 9 | Richmond | Blundstone Arena | Home | 1:45pm |
7 | Friday May 15 | Essendon | Etihad Stadium | Away | 7:50pm |
8 | Saturday May 23 | Fremantle | Patersons Stadium | Away | 7:40pm |
9 | Sunday May 31 | Collingwood | MCG | Away | 3:20pm |
10 | Sunday June 7 | West Coast | Blundstone Arena | Home | 3:20pm |
11 | Saturday June 13 | Sydney | Etihad Stadium | Home | 7:20pm |
12 | Saturday June 20 | GWS Giants | Spotless Stadium | Away | 4:35pm |
13 | BYE | ||||
14 | Saturday July 4 | Gold Coast | Metricon Stadium | Away | 4:35pm |
15 | Saturday July 11 | Geelong | Etihad Stadium | Home | 7:20pm |
16 | Friday July 17 | Essendon | Etihad Stadium | Home | 7:50pm |
17 | Saturday July 25 | Brisbane | The Gabba | Away | 7:20pm |
18 | Saturday August 1 | Carlton | Etihad Stadium | Away | 7:20pm |
19 | Sunday August 9 | Melbourne | MCG | Away | 1:10pm |
20 | Saturday August 15 | St Kilda | Blundstone Arena | Home | 2:10pm |
21 | Sunday August 23 | Fremantle | Etihad Stadium | Home | 1:10pm |
22 | Saturday August 29 | Western Bulldogs | Etihad Stadium | Home | 4:35pm |
23 | TBC | Richmond | Etihad Stadium | Away | TBC |
