THE fixture for most of the rest of the 2023 AFL season has been released, with the Geelong Cats to play mostly at night and half its games at home in the back part of the year.
Geelong supporters previously knew who their opponents would be and what order they would play them in, but the fixture details put out earlier today (Thursday, May 18) reveal the date and time of the games in eight of the final nine rounds.
The Cats will feature across Friday night, Saturday and Sunday fixtures with four of those matches at home at GMHBA Stadium.
Geelong will play in a Friday night matchup in Sydney against the Swans in Round 16, in what could potentially be the last time the Cats play against a Swans line-up that includes Lance Franklin.
The Cats will host home games against North Melbourne (Round 17), Essendon (Round 18), Fremantle (Round 20) and Port Adelaide (Roundd 21). These matches are spread across different timeslots and include the Bombers and Port Adelaide games as primetime Saturday night matches.
The Cats and Bombers’ Saturday night match will be only the second time the clubs have met for the four points at GMHBA Stadium in the last 29 years – having played in Round 21, 1993 and then more recently in Round 16, 2021.
“Our Geelong members and fans will be excited to have the timeslots confirmed for our run of home games in the AFL’s fixture release today. We have a strong set of games at GMHBA Stadium where we will host the Kangaroos, Bombers, Dockers and Port Adelaide,” Geelong chief executive officer Steve Hocking said.
“For our families there is a great balance between day and primetime games at GMHBA Stadium with two afternoon timeslots and two earlier evening starts of 7.25pm.
“With games against North Melbourne and Essendon coinciding with the AFL’s Kids Go Free we’re looking forward to continuing our Cats matchday experience with fun-filled family activities and entertainment pre-match at those games.”
The Cats will also have two marquee games in Melbourne against Collingwood in another Friday night match at the MCG and St Kilda on a Saturday afternoon at Marvel Stadium.
“While we love playing in Geelong, we’re also looking forward to two big consecutive games in Melbourne against Collingwood and St Kilda in rounds 22 and 23, which will be pivotal to our run home,” Hocking said.
The AFL will confirm the timeslot for Geelong’s Round 24 match against the Western Bulldogs at GMHBA Stadium – to take place at some point between August 25 and August 27 – about four weeks in advance.
All times are in AEST:
- Round 16 – Swans vs Cats at SCG, Friday, June 30, 7.50pm
- Round 17 – Cats vs North Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium, Sunday, July 9, 1.10pm
- Round 18 – Cats vs Bombers at GMHBA Stadium, Saturday, July 15, 7.25pm
- Round 19 – Lions vs Cats at The Gabba, Saturday, July 22, 4.35pm
- Round 20 – Cats vs Dockers at GMHBA Stadium, Saturday, July 29, 1.45pm
- Round 21 – Cats vs Port Adelaide at GMHBA Stadium, Saturday, August 5, 7.25pm
- Round 22 – Pies vs Cats at MCG, Friday, August 11, 7.50pm
- Round 23 – Saints vs Cats at Marvel Stadium, Saturday, August 19, 7.25pm