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2017-18 A-League draw revealed: Big Blue to highlight Round 1

Where to now for football in Australia? (AAP Image/David Moir)
Editor
28th June, 2017
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The 2017-18 A-League season will kick off on October 6 in Brisbane, with a blockbuster round to get things underway.

While the season will begin when the Brisbane Roar take on Melbourne City in a Friday night clash, the game of the opening round is the grand final rematch between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium.

» See the full A-League draw here

The first round of the year will also see an F3 derby between the Newcastle Jets, as well as matches between the Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United in New Zealand and the Western Sydney Wanderers and Perth Glory at Spotless Stadium

A Melbourne derby between the Victory and City will follow in Round 2, while the two Sydney clubs, FC and the Wanderers, will meet for the first time in Round 3 on a weekend that will also see rivals the Victory and Adelaide meet at the Adelaide Oval.

Each team will play each other twice – one home and one away fixture – by Round 18, while the final nine rounds of the year will see each side play one match against all other clubs in the competition.

Rounds 20 and 22 will both be split across two weekends to accommodate the clubs competing in the Asian Champions League.

“Developing this draw has been a challenging process to accommodate the preferences of the clubs, venue availability and also the AFC Champions League 2018,” said A-League boss Greg O’Rourke.

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“We have added a new feature to this season’s draw with all clubs playing each other twice between rounds 1 to 18. The remaining nine rounds will see each club play each other once in the lead-up to the Hyundai A-League 2018 Finals Series.”

The 2017-18 season will be the first edition of the A-League played under the new broadcast deal, with Network Ten to broadcast one Saturday night match each week and all the finals live on free-to-air TV. Each side will play at least one game shown on free-to-air TV throughout the season.

Fox Sports will once again show every game of the season live on pay TV and their streaming services.

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