The round-one AFL blockbuster next season between Hawthorn and Geelong is just the first step in a tough few weeks for the arch rivals.

Two of the league’s pacesetters for the last six years will be tested with their draw through April and May.

The league released the 2013 fixture on Wednesday, with the Hawks’ first seven games all against their fellow finalists from this season.

Hawthorn, the losing grand finalists, have not beaten the Cats since winning the 2008 premiership.

Their April Fool’s Day clash with Geelong on Easter Monday will be the highlight of round one, which will be split over a fortnight.

Hawthorn’s potential start from hell will also include away matches against West Coast and Adelaide and culminates in the round-seven grand final rematch against Sydney on Saturday night at the MCG.

Some of the pain in Geelong’s early-season fixture is self-inflicted, thanks to the redevelopment of Simonds Stadium.

Their home ground is unavailable until round 10, when they host Gold Coast in the first night match at the venue.

The Cats have only lost once at Simonds Stadium since early 2007.

But a succession of six-day breaks will add to the challenge for Geelong in their first month.

After the holiday Monday game against Hawthorn, they play finalists North Melbourne the following Sunday, then Mick Malthouse’s Carlton on Saturday and premiers Sydney – at the SCG – in a Friday-night blockbuster.

Round one is scheduled over two weekends because the MCG, the SCG and the Gabba are unavailable until the final weekend in March due to cricket commitments.

The AFL preference would be a full round in the first weekend, starting on March 22, and then scheduling a second bye for all teams.

As was the case last year, each team’s bye will be distributed through rounds 11-13, with six games per week.

“We’ve made representations to government – we’re looking for some constructive solutions,” said AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan.

“We’re hoping to get some traction … at the moment it’s not ideal.

“Our players are crying out for a rest. In the discussions we have with them, this is priority one, two, three for them.”

McLachlan added the league was determined to achieve equity in the fixture wherever possible.

This is always an issue for the AFL because teams do not play each other the same amount of times.

When Adelaide shot up from 14th in 2011 to within five points of this year’s grand final, one knock on their meteoric rise was that they benefitted from a perceived “soft” fixture.

“We’ve been quite particular and careful about that,” McLachlan said of the equity issue.

But Adelaide have done well again – they are the only team to have just three matches against the other top-four finishers and two of those are at home.

Many details of next season’s fixture were already known, either through AFL announcements or club leaks.

Malthouse will coach against his previous club Collingwood for the first time in round two.

St Kilda and Sydney will play in Wellington on Anzac Day evening – the first AFL match for premiership points to be held outside Australia.

There will be two Monday night games – Carlton and St Kilda will clash immediately after Mother’s Day in round seven, while West Coast will host a game on WA’s Foundation Day for the first time.

Foundation Day is a bumper fixture for the WAFL and there are concerns the round-10 night game against Richmond could detract from the local games.