Following the 2021 season, every Australian Football League club will play a practice game and an AAMI Community Series match before the 2022 football season.
Two pre-season games will be played by AFL teams before the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership season, with one full-scale match in early March and another practice encounter organized with a rival club.
The layout of the 2021 pre-season is comparable to that of the 2021 pre-season when the AFL sought to reduce travel for clubs due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which is further straining professional sports competitions.
First Two Games
Like last year’s premiership season, this year’s AAMI Community Series will begin with a match between reigning champion Melbourne and Carlton on the 3rd of March.
The first two games will take place at Marvel Stadium, with the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions playing the following night after the Melbourne vs Carlton game.
Following Matches
On the 5th of March, Hawthorn will take on Richmond in the North-West of Tasmania as a tribute to the families and community of the tragic accident in Devonport that left numerous families without their children due to a horrific Jumping castle tragedy.
No venue has currently been locked in for the Hawthorn Richmond game yet; this will be announced in the following month.
A pre-season tussle between Adelaide and Port Adelaide will occur at Richmond Oval.
Essendon and St Kilda will face off at Marvel Stadium.
GWS and Collingwood will square off at Giants Stadium on Sunday.
Sydney and North Melbourne will battle it out at Giants Stadium shortly after the GWS and Magpies game.
Fremantle and West Coast are squaring off the following day at Fremantle Oval, which follows a doubleheader at Giants Stadium in western Sydney.
In the final match of the AAMI Community Series to be played on Monday night, Gold Coast and Geelong will meet in a crucial matchup at Metricon Stadium.
Each team can play one pre-season match on the final two weekends of February before the AAMI Community Series in March. AFL clubs will independently choose the venue, time, date, and format of each match; this will also include the number of players, quarters, and each quarter length.
Pre-season practice matches
Essendon v Western Bulldogs
North Melbourne v Melbourne
Sydney v GWS Giants
Carlton v St Kilda
Collingwood v Hawthorn
Geelong v Richmond
Brisbane v Gold Coast
West Coast v Adelaide
Fremantle v Port Adelaide
AAMI Community Series
Thursday, the 3rd of March
Carlton v Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, 7.20pm AEDT
Friday, the 4th of March
Western Bulldogs v Brisbane at Marvel Stadium, 7.20 pm AEDT
Saturday, the 5th of March
Hawthorn v Richmond at TBC, 1.10pm AEDT
Adelaide v Port Adelaide at Richmond Oval, 3.40pm ACDT
Essendon v St Kilda at Marvel Stadium, 7.10pm AEDT
Sunday, the 6th of March
Greater Western Sydney v Collingwood at Giants Stadium, 12.40 pm AEDT
Sydney v North Melbourne at Giants Stadium, 4.20 pm AEDT
Fremantle v West Coast at Fremantle Oval, 4.10 pm AWST
Monday, the 7th of March
Gold Coast v Geelong at Metricon Stadium, 6.40 pm AEST
