The 2018 AFL season will begin on Thursday, March 22 and finish with the grand final on Saturday, September 29 after the League released details for next season.
A complete fixture should be announced by late October this year, although the League has already revealed the dates of key matches.
Along with the opening and closing match of the season, the Easter round will begin on Thursday, March 29 and go until Monday, April 2, while the ANZAC Day round will stretch from Friday, April 20 to Wednesday, April 25.
The Queens Birthday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne will take place on Monday, June 11.
The AFL has also confirmed a regular round next season would include the following start matches.
- One Friday night
- Two Saturday afternoon
- One Saturday twilight
- Two Saturday night
- One early Sunday
- One Sunday afternoon
- One Sunday twilight
The League also believe the Thursday night fixture will remain a big part of the 2018 calendar, with around eight matches set to be scheduled, given there were eight this season.
