Adelaide won’t have to wait long to have a crack at Richmond, with the Crows to host the Tigers in a Thursday night grand final rematch in round two at Adelaide Oval next year.
The AFL released the full fixture for the 2018 season on Tuesday and the league has stuck with a floating round 23 fixture with a bye round before the finals series kicks off.
Richmond will kick the season off and unfurl their premiership flag at the MCG in a now-standard fixture against Carlton, on Thursday night.
The Tigers roar back into primetime in 2018 with Damien Hardwick’s men playing five Friday night games and three Thursday night matches.
A key part of formulating the fixture is the ‘weighted rule’, which breaks the 2017 ladder into six groups — top, middle and bottom six.
Greater Western Sydney and Sydney have been handed tough draws, with the Giants and Swans the only teams to play three top-six sides twice.
Sydney also have the most six-day breaks with eight, while Gold Coast have the least with three.
The AFL’s Chinese experiment will continue in round nine with Port Adelaide to take on Gold Coast at Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai on a Saturday afternoon.
Good Friday footy will continue but North Melbourne will take on St Kilda instead of the Western Bulldogs.
The 2018 grand final will be held on Saturday September 29.