• Round One of the 2022 VFL season to be played on March 25/26/27
• 21 teams will play 18 games each in a 22-round home-and-away season
• Top eight will contest a four-week finals series
• Grand Final scheduled for the weekend of 17/18 September

The AFL has released the 2022 Victorian Football League (VFL) Round One fixture and match ups for the full season, with the competition to commence on Friday 25 March, one week after the commencement of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

The Gold Coast SUNS are set to kick off their 2022 campaign against the Northern Bullants at Metricon Stadium at 2:05pm AEST as a curtain raiser to the AFL sides first home fixture of the season against reigning premiers Melbourne.

The largest second-tier football competition in the country returns after two COVID-disrupted seasons and for the second-year running will feature teams from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

21 teams will play 18 games each in a 22-round home-and-away season. A final eight will contest a four-week finals series, culminating in the 2022 VFL Grand Final on the weekend of 17/18 September.

Round One will commence with two clashes on Friday 25 March, the first a late afternoon game at VU Whitten Oval between Footscray and Sydney at 4:35pm, before Carlton hosts the Brisbane Lions at IKON Park at 5.05pm. A further three matches on Saturday, including a night match at Frankston, then five games on Sunday, complete a big opening weekend.

Tickets to all VFL matches throughout the home-and-away season are available at the gate. Adults are $10, concession $5 and children under 15 are free.

AFL State League Competitions Manager, Jennie Loughnan, said: “2022 is an incredibly important and exciting year for the VFL competition after two severely disrupted seasons.

“A huge amount of work has gone into getting ready for the season and developing the fixture, which is a more complex process than usual given the overlay of COVID protocols for AFL-aligned clubs and how that impacts the timing of matches at VFL level. We appreciate the patience and support shown by stakeholders across the VFL, including the clubs, broadcasters, partners and supporters.

“We are very proud of the rich tradition and history of the VFL and its clubs, and we are looking forward to getting a full season away, with Round One featuring a number of highly anticipated match ups.

“We aim to confirm schedules for Rounds Two to Eight as soon as possible, and will lock in details after Round Eight once we have clarity on the AFL fixture and how that impacts our AFL-aligned teams.”

Broadcast and streaming: VFL broadcast partner the Seven Network will show a weekly game plus finals, live and free on 7 in Victoria and 7Plus nationally. Fans can catch up from anywhere around the nation on 7plus. All VFL matches in 2022 will be live streamed and available on demand via the AFL website and AFL Live Official App.

Round One broadcast arrangements will be confirmed closer to the season.

While COVID-19 continues to impact the community, the health and welfare of all involved remains the priority and all matches will operate in a safe manner based on advice of respective governments, public health officials and medical experts. Protocols designed to protect those involved in the VFL have been communicated to clubs.

Like most football competitions across Victoria last year, the VFL 2021 season was called off prematurely, with no premier awarded because of the COVID situation and government restrictions. With the 2020 season cancelled, the last VFL premiership was won by Richmond in 2019.

2022 VFL Clubs

AFL-aligned clubs (14)

Box Hill Hawks

Brisbane Lions

Carlton

Casey Demons

Collingwood

Essendon

Footscray

Geelong

Gold Coast Suns

GWS Giants

North Melbourne

Richmond

Sydney Swans

Sandringham 

Standalone clubs (7)

Coburg

Frankston

Northern Bullants

Port Melbourne

Southport Sharks

Werribee

Williamstown