2 weeks Ago By Ben Sutton
Premiers Brisbane will host Geelong in the first game of the 2025 AFL season. 7NEWS reporter Kate Massey revealed the two AFL heavyweights will clash at the Gabba on Thursday night, March 6, to kick off the Opening Round. It will be a repeat of this year’s thrilling preliminary final, which the Lions won by 10 points after kicking two goals in the final five minutes .
Brisbane then went on to demolish Sydney in the grand final to cap a remarkable comeback from starting the year with three straight losses. The club will unfurl their flag in front of their home fans for what will no doubt be a sellout crowd against the Cats. The two teams have enjoyed a healthy rivalry in the past five years, having squared off in three preliminary finals.
The Opening Round concept returns again next year after making its debut in 2024. This year’s runners-up Sydney will host Hawthorn on the Friday night, while Gold Coast and the GWS Giants will host matches, likely on the Saturday. All the details of the Opening Round fixture will be released on Tuesday with the full AFL fixture to follow on Thursday.
The AFL unveiled the Gather Round schedule earlier on Monday with Port Adelaide and Hawthorn to face off for the first time since their infamous semi-final tussle. The Hawks will return to the Adelaide Oval on April 13, seven months after the Power ended their unexpected AFL finals run. But Port’s thrilling three-point win is best remembered for the fiery post-game confrontation between Power coach Ken Hinkley and Hawthorn captain James Sicily.
Outspoken Hawks forward Jack Ginnivan had fired up Port in the days before the game when he posted a five-word comment to Sydney ruckman, and former Collingwood teammate, Brodie Grundy. Hinkley and Port, who were embarrassed in a qualifying final mauling by Geelong, took the “see u in 14 days” comment personally, admitting to using the sledge as motivation. After the heart-stopping win, Hinkley shouted to Ginnivan “he’s not flying anywhere”, prompting Sicily to fire angrily back at the Port coach.
The war of words even extended into the guard of honour for Hawthorn great Luke Breust, who had just played his 300th game. The rematch always promised to be one of the more eagerly anticipated games of 2025, but the Sunday night match will ensure the third Gather Round closes in style. Thursday, April 10 Adelaide v Geelong, Adelaide Oval Friday, April 11 Collingwood v Sydney, Adelaide Oval Saturday, April 12 Carlton v West Coast, Adelaide Oval North Melbourne v Gold Coast, Barossa Park Western Bulldogs v Brisbane, Norwood Oval Essendon v Melbourne, Adelaide Oval Sunday, April 13 Richmond v Fremantle, Barossa Park St Kilda v GWS, Norwood Oval Port Adelaide v Hawthorn, Adelaide Oval - With AAP.
