Melbourne and Gold Coast will host a combined three matches in the Northern Territory in each of the next three seasons as part of a new agreement between the AFL and the Top End state.
The Suns will host two matches in Darwin each year from 2024-2026, while Melbourne will have one home game in Alice Springs across that same period.
Both North Melbourne and Geelong will venture north this year to TIO Stadium in Darwin to face the Suns in Round 9 and 10 respectively - the latter launching Sir Doug Nicholls Round as a Thursday night fixture.
The Kangaroos' contest with Gold Coast will be held the prior Saturday night.
Melbourne's Northern Territory game will take place at Traeger Park against Fremantle in Round 12 on Sunday, June 2 in an afternoon timeslot.
“Darwin and Alice Springs are wonderful places to play and watch footy and we are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Northern Territory Major Events that will see us play in the Territory consistently over the next three years,” AFL Executive General Manager Finance, Clubs and Infrastructure, Matthew Chun said in a league statement.
“Not only is this a fantastic opportunity for local fans to enjoy AFL games in their own backyard, but the matches also provide interstate fans a chance to escape the winter months and travel to the Territory to experience the best of what the Top End has to offer.”
The Suns played two games at TIO Stadium in 2023 and collected successive wins across Rounds 11 and 12 with upset victories over the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide to take their record at the venue to four wins and one loss since their first match at the ground for premiership points in 2020.
Melbourne have hosted matches in the Northern Territory since 2010, with their first coming with a one-point win over Port Adelaide in front of 8,848 fans at TIO Stadium.
In 2014 they hosted the first AFL match in Alice Springs and have played a total of nine games at the venue, amassing a 4-5 record over the past decade.
