North Melbourne are set to receive the golden ticket of just one away trip to Western Australia in 2025 as part of its $7.5m deal to sell AFL home games to the state.
The Kangaroos on Wednesday confirmed a three-year deal with WA as part of its staggered exit out of its long-running Tasmania deal.
In the 2025 season North will host West Coast in Bunbury on June 8 and remain in the state to host Fremantle at Optus Stadium in Perth on June 14.
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It is expected the Roos will not be fixtured to travel to WA at any other time in the 2025 season, according to 7NEWS reporters Mitch Cleary and Ryan Daniels.
Whether that is part of the agreement or just for next year remains to be seen.
It is not unusual for clubs to make just one trip to WA — as North themselves did in 2024 — but the quirk means North and West Coast will not face each other twice in 2025 despite both finishing in the bottom six on the ladder this year.
Meanwhile, the Kangaroos will still host two games in Tasmania next year before bidding farewell to the Apple Isle.
From 2026 the club will host nine home games in Melbourne for the first time since the 2014 season.
North Melbourne said it is a “great outcome” to host more games at Marvel Stadium “while securing our financial future”.
“We thank the AFL, the Western Australian government, Tourism Western Australia, and the Fremantle and West Coast football clubs for helping to bring this package together,” CEO Jennifer Watt said.
“The club began planning for our post-Tasmania future once Tasmania was granted an AFL licence.
Having explored a number of options, this three-year agreement stood alone in delivering multiple benefits to the club, our members and supporters.
“North Melbourne will always be our forever home, and enhancing our facilities and expanding our footprint within the Arden Precinct will always be at the heart of our long-term strategy.
“From a financial perspective, this opportunity in Western Australia will go a long way to ensuring we can continue to do that alongside fully funded football departments.
“Underpinning the club’s finances also enables us to refocus and invest in talent identification and fan development in our Next Generation Academies.
“We are a club with a long, proud history of challenging the status quo and we see this opportunity as another significant moment in our history.”
The AFL is set to release the full 2025 fixture this week.