Games you must not miss in the 2022 AFL season

The highly anticipated draw for the 2022 AFL season has been released and for 17 teams, the quest to stop Melbourne repeating as champions has begun in earnest.

Another COVID-19-interrupted season saw the AFL grand final moved to Optus Stadium in Perth, and it was the Dees who reigned supreme as they claimed their first flag since 1964 with a 74-point thrashing of the Western Bulldogs in the decider.

FULL AFL FIXTURES FOR THE OPENING 9 ROUNDS

A new era will dawn at Carlton, Hawthorn and Collingwood, all of whom have new coaches in Michael Voss, Sam Mitchell and Craig McRae respectively, while at Adelaide, Matthew Nicks enters his third season as coach with his future secure after recently earning a contract extension.

Here are just some of the key moments you simply cannot miss in 2022.

Round 1
The Dees and Dogs will face each other on a Wednesday night to kick off the new season, marking the first time since 2009 that a grand final rematch will be held in the opening round.

It will be the first time since 2000 that the season has begun on a Wednesday; coincidentally, Melbourne were also involved on that occasion – they lost to Richmond by two points at the beginning of a season in which they would make a grand final.

The season opener stands to be a grand old occasion for the Dees, who will unfurl the club’s tenth flag, and first since 1957, prior to the match in a ceremony that the club’s fans, ranging from the youngest to the oldest, will not want to miss.

Max Gawn shares the premiership trophy with Dees fans (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

This means the traditional season-opening match between Richmond and Carlton will instead be the second match of the new season, though they will retain the Thursday night slot which they have owned since 2008.

St Kilda and Collingwood will be hoping to put disappointing 2021 seasons behind them when they clash in the first Friday night match of the season at Marvel Stadium, with the match to mark Craig McRae’s first match in the Pies’ hot seat vacated by Nathan Buckley.

A huge triple-header sees six of last year’s finals teams in action, starting with the Country Game between the Geelong Cats and Essendon at the MCG with a bumper crowd of over 50-60,000 expected.

After another COVID-plagued season, AFL football returns to Sydney with a bang, with Accor Stadium (formerly Stadium Australia) the surprise venue for the Sydney Derby, where all eyes will be on Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin as he chases the milestone 1000th career goal.

It will be the first time that an AFL match is played at the Olympic Stadium since the 2016 qualifying final, after the NSW Government cancelled plans to renovate the ground in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, meaning the ground remained able to host AFL and cricket matches.

The 23rd instalment of the Sydney Derby will also mark a decade since the Giants entered the competition and copped an unsurprisingly rude awakening from their bigger brothers, who would go on to win the flag in 2012.

The Swans will be out for revenge after suffering a heartbreaking one-point loss in last year’s elimination final, which, due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, was held in Launceston, Tasmania.

In the evening, Port Adelaide returns to the scene of one of their most embarrassing defeats from last year, facing fellow premiership contenders the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba. It is the fourth straight year in which the Power must start a new season with an away game.

Sunday sees Hawthorn, with new coach and favourite son Sam Mitchell in the hot seat, facing North Melbourne at the MCG, while the Adelaide Crows have the honour of opening the season at the Adelaide Oval for the fourth year in a row when they clash with Fremantle in the twilight.

For the second year in a row, the opening round concludes in the west, with the West Coast Eagles and Gold Coast Suns squaring off at Optus Stadium.

Buddy’s 1000th at the SCG?
If Buddy doesn’t hit the four figures in the opening round, then chances are he could do it in Round 2, when the Sydney Swans face the Geelong Cats in what shapes as a potentially history-making Friday night at the SCG.

Such is the looming expectation of the milestone which has been a quarter of a century in the making, the AFL has given the club two games in Sydney to start the year, giving the talisman two chances in which to crack the four figures in the Harbour City.

The 34-year-old (he will be 35 by the start of the new season) will enter the new season on 995 career goals, and if he boots four or less goals in the previous round against the GWS Giants, then the clash against the Cats could see him bring up the long-awaited 1000th goal, becoming the first man since Gary Ablett Sr. in 1996 to do so.

Should he crack the milestone at Moore Park, we could be in for scenes similar to that of 1999 when Tony Lockett broke the AFL’s goal kicking record with his 1300th career goal against Collingwood, sparking a pitch invasion right on quarter-time.

It could also be the first mid-match pitch invasion we witness since 2008, when Buddy kicked his 100th goal that season against Carlton at Marvel Stadium in the final round of the regular season.

Round 2 will also see the GWS Giants face Richmond at the MCG for the first time since the 2019 grand final, while Joe Daniher could face a baptism of fire when the Brisbane Lions travel south to Melbourne to face his old club Essendon at Marvel Stadium.

Easter Round
Easter Round, set down for Round 5 next season, sees up to four grand final rematches from yesteryear take place, starting with a clash between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood at the Gabba on the Thursday night.

The Lions and Pies were originally due to have met at the Gabba in Round 3 last season, only for a COVID outbreak in the sunshine capital to see the match switched to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

In that match, Zac Bailey kicked the match-winning goal after the final siren to give the Lions their first win of the season, and all but deliver last rites to the Pies’ season.

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

On Good Friday, North Melbourne will be keen to prove that they’ve come a long way since their 128-point thrashing at the hands of the Western Bulldogs, when the same two teams meet at Marvel Stadium, before the West Coast Eagles and Sydney Swans lock horns at Optus Stadium in the evening.

The other two grand final rematches from years past sees the Adelaide Crows host Richmond at the Oval in the Saturday twilight slot, while the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn renew hostilities at the MCG in their annual Easter Monday clash.

Anzac Appeal Round
For the second consecutive year, the annual Anzac Round kicks off in the nation’s capital, with Toby Greene set to make his return from suspension when the GWS Giants take on St Kilda at Manuka Oval on the Friday night.

Greene was initially suspended for three weeks by the AFL judiciary for intentionally bumping umpire Matt Stevic during the elimination final against the Swans last year, only for the AFL appeals board to succeed in having his ban doubled to six matches.

His return will be timely for Leon Cameron’s side, who must play the first five rounds of the new season without the most colourful player in their side.

Fremantle will be hoping for a bumper crowd for its Len Hall Tribute match against Carlton, after a COVID scare in Western Australia saw fans locked out of their clash against North Melbourne last April.

Tasmanian fans will be treated to two matches over the weekend, with North Melbourne facing the Geelong Cats on the Sunday, while Buddy could face his old side Hawthorn for the final time when the Swans face the Hawks in Launceston on the Monday.

Lance Franklin (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

There’ll also be a QClash on the Gold Coast, as well as the annual Anzac Eve match between the past two premiers in Richmond and Melbourne, both on Sunday.

It all leads up to the annual Anzac Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood at the MCG on the Monday in which a post-pandemic record crowd of over 90,000 would be expected to turn up.

Port Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs, Round 8
If there is one match that Port Adelaide fans have marked on their calendars, it’s the Round 8 Friday night home match against the Western Bulldogs at the Adelaide Oval.

Why? Because the Power will be desperate to reverse their humiliating preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs, which saw them fall just one match short of the big dance for the second year running, following their heartbreaking loss to Richmond in the same stage in 2020.

In front of a horrified Adelaide Oval crowd, the Bulldogs ran riot from start to finish as they powered their way through to their second grand final in six years, the result meaning Ken Hinkley’s men missed out on their shot at a first flag since 2004.

The two sides had split their two regular season meetings, with the Dogs winning by 19 points at the Oval in Round 9 before the Power returned serve with a narrow win in Round 23 which saw them finish the season in second place on the ladder, only behind Melbourne.

There is no doubting the Power will be hyped up for this clash, and both sides will want to be on their game as they kick off the eighth round of the regular season.

Melbourne returns to Optus Stadium in Round 9
Melbourne will not have to wait long to return to the scene of their greatest triumph, when they head across the Nullarbor to face the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium in Round 9.

It was at the 60,000-seat venue where the Dees buried nearly six decades of premiership disappointment, defeating the Western Bulldogs by 74 points to win their first flag since 1964 and bring tons of joy to its success-starved supporters.

While it was a historic and momentous occasion for the people of Western Australia, who have lived behind a hard border for nearly two years, it was bittersweet for the club’s Victorian supporters, who were enduring a lockdown on grand final day and had to improvise their celebrations.

For the West Coast Eagles, who defeated the Dees by 11 goals en route to their own premiership in 2018, it will be a good test of where they are at, with the club having missed the finals for the first time since 2014 last season.

It will be the first of two trips Simon Goodwin’s side will make to Perth, as they are also scheduled to tackle Fremantle in Round 20.

Sir Doug Nicholls Round
Once again, Sir Doug Nicholls Round is spread across two rounds, with high expectations that the Dreamtime match between Richmond and Essendon will be returned to the MCG after it was played in Darwin and Perth in the past two seasons due to COVID lockdowns in Melbourne.

The Bombers will be desperate to win the match more than most, having not win this fixture nor beaten the Tigers since mid-2014, when they won by 50 points.

AFL football will also return to the Northern Territory for the first time since 2020 in Round 11, the second week of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round, when the Gold Coast Suns ‘host’ Hawthorn at TIO Stadium in Darwin.

The two teams were originally scheduled to play there last season, but after the territory imposed travel restrictions on travellers from Victoria, the match was shifted to the SCG in Sydney, where the Suns defeated the Hawks for the second time in their history.

A week after their annual Dreamtime match against the Bombers, the Tigers will face the Sydney Swans for the Marn Grook Trophy in what will be their first trip to the SCG since they suffered a 113-point humiliation in the final round of the 2016 season.

It will also be the Western Bulldogs’ turn to fly to Perth as they return to Optus Stadium for the first time since their grand final loss to Melbourne, also to face the West Coast Eagles.

(Photo by Rob Blakers/Getty Images)

Geelong Cats vs Melbourne, Round 17
The only meeting between the Geelong Cats and Melbourne is set down for Round 17 at Kardinia Park, as the Dees return to the scene of one of their most humiliating defeats – but also one of recent triumph.

Over a decade after the club suffered a near-record 186-point defeat which resulted in the dismissal of the late Dean Bailey, the Dees appeared headed for a heavy defeat in the final round of the season when they trailed by over 40 points deep in the third quarter.

However, unlike past sides which would simply throw in the towel, Simon Goodwin’s side would wipe out the deficit in the final quarter, culminating in a shot for glory from captain Max Gawn, who had to kick a goal after the final siren to give his side the minor premiership.

Gawn goalled truly, seeing the club finish on top of the ladder for the first time since 1964 and putting themselves in the strongest possible position to smash the club’s premiership drought, which they would ultimately do with three devastating September performances.

It was in the preliminary final in which the Cats, after years of relentless domination against the Dees, copped a dose of their own medicine as they suffered a crushing 83-point defeat, which again raised questions as to whether their flag window is still open or not.

With both sides expected to once again feature in September this year, this clash could prove pivotal in the run to the finals.

Hobart’s first Tasmanian Derby, Round 19
For the first time, North Melbourne will get the opportunity to host Hawthorn at their secondary home ground, with the Tasmanian Derby set for Round 19 at Blundstone Arena in Hobart.

It was in the teams’ previous meeting in the Apple Isle, in Round 9 last season, where the Roos came from behind to register a stunning seven-point win in Launceston, putting an end to a 16-game losing streak and giving David Noble his first win as an AFL head coach.

The teams will have already met at the MCG in Round 1, but for the Roos here lies the long-awaited opportunity to finally be able to host the Hawks in Hobart, with all previous Tasmanian derbies having been hosted by the brown-and-golds in Launceston.

It will also indirectly mark a decade since the first such clash, in Round 10, 2012, when then-Hawk Lance Franklin famously kicked 13 goals – outscoring the entire North side by four goals.

The AFL finals
Finally, 23 rounds of bone-crunching action will culminate in a four-week finals series, with the grand final to be returned to the MCG after the past two deciders were played at the Gabba (2020) and Optus Stadium (2021).

The Melbourne Demons are the club with the biggest targets on their heads, as seven other clubs attempt to stop Simon Goodwin’s side going back to back, with Richmond, the Geelong Cats, Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide expected to be among the contenders next year.

The grand final is set down for the date of Saturday, September 24 – that’s assuming the pre-finals bye, currently scheduled for the final weekend of August, remains.

Those are just some of the highlights of the 2022 AFL fixture, which is always filled with excitement and intrigue.

Before the men’s season gets underway on Wednesday, March 16, we have the AFL Women’s season to look forward to, beginning on Friday, January 7, in which the Brisbane Lions will be hoping to make it back-to-back flags.