COLLINGWOOD and Hawthorn face a stern test to maintain their high 2011 rankings after being handed challenging 2012 fixtures.
In a reflection of their strong 2011 performances and crowd-pulling ability, clashes between the Magpies, Hawks and premiers Geelong feature heavily in the blockbuster-laden fixture.
Collingwood, beaten Grand Finalists this year, will face five of 2011's top eight clubs twice in 2012 - the only team to do so.
That will include return match-ups with every other top-five team (the Hawks, Cats, West Coast Eagles and Carlton), plus traditional rival Essendon.
Hawthorn, which finished third this year but was unable to beat either Collingwood or Geelong in five attempts, kicks off 2012 with blockbuster clashes against those two clubs.
Alastair Clarkson's men face the Magpies on Friday night in round one and the Cats on Easter Monday in round two, in what will be an immediate test of their premiership credentials in front of huge MCG crowds.
The Hawks will play four 2011 top-eight teams twice: both Grand Finalists, West Coast and the Sydney Swans.
The season will open on Saturday 24 March with the first ever NSW derby between new club Greater Western Sydney and their cross-town rivals the Swans at ANZ Stadium.
The clash will be the only game that weekend and is set to be broadcast nationally on Channel Seven.
The following Thursday night will see the traditional round one clash between Richmond and Carlton, while reigning premiers Geelong will kick off its title defence with a trip to Patersons Stadium to play Fremantle on the Saturday night.
High-profile Melbourne recruit Mitch Clark will face his old club the Brisbane Lions in his very first game for the Demons, on Saturday afternoon at the MCG, with the Lions then returning to the Gabba for a feature Easter Thursday night clash with Carlton to kick off round two.
In other highlights of the 2012 fixture released by the AFL on Friday morning:
- The Cats will unfurl their premiership flag at Simonds Stadium (formerly Skilled Stadium) ahead of their clash with Richmond in round four.
- In the same round, new Fremantle coach Ross Lyon will face off against his former club St Kilda for the first time on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.
- Geelong and Collingwood will meet in Grand Final rematches in rounds eight and 16.
- Greater Western Sydn ey's first match at its newly renovated Skoda Stadium will be in round nine, with Kevin Sheedy to coach against his former club Essendon for the first time.
- Hobart's Blundstone Arena (formerly Bellerive Oval) will make its debut as an AFL venue, hosting North Melbourne home matches in round two against the Giants and round 15 against West Coast.
- Several established marquee matches have been retained: Collingwood playing Essendon on ANZAC Day, Fremantle playing Carlton in its annual Len Hall tribute match two days later, Melbourne taking on the Magpies on Queen's Birthday Monday, Essendon and Richmond clashing in the 'Dreamtime at the 'G' match in round eight, and St Kilda hosting Carlton on a Monday night to close round seven.
- As is standard, there'll be two 'Derbies' between Fremantle and West Coast, two 'Showdowns' between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, two Brisbane Lions- Gold Coast 'Q-Clashes' and, for the first time, two all-Sydney clashes between the Giants and Swans.
They also have the most matches on free to air TV (17), although every non-Victorian club will have all matches broadcast on free to air into its home market.
Queensland clubs the Brisbane Lions (six) and Gold Coast (four) will play the most matches in the new Saturday twilight timeslot, created as a result of the introduction of an 18th club.
The arrival of Greater Western Sydney also means that for the first time every Victorian team will travel interstate at least five times.
North Melbourne has the most interstate trips of any Victorian club with eight (including two home games in Tasmania), while Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon have the minimum five.
The Bombers and Magpies also have the least six-day breaks (three), although both face a challenging four-day turnaround ahead of their ANZAC Day showdown, which is on a Wednesday.
St Kilda, with nine, has the most six-day breaks.
All up, the 2012 home and away season will feature 198 matches, 11 more than in 2011.
The season will be played over 23 rounds, with shortened six-game rounds in weeks 11, 12 and 13 allowing each club to have a mid-season bye over a three-week period.
All top eight teams from 2011 play at least two other top eight teams twice, and all bottom 10 teams (with new club the Giants included in that group) play at least two other bottom 10 teams twice.
Of this year's top eight, only the Swans face either Gold Coast or Greater Western Sydney more than once (they play the Giants twice due to the local rivalry).
Adelaide and North Melbourne are the only teams to face both the competition's first- and second-year franchises twice.
Once again the dates for the final round of matches have yet to be decided, leaving round 23 as a 'floating' fixture.
They'll be determined later in the season with a view to giving top eight clubs the longest possible break ahead of their first final.
