THE AFL has announced that Port Adelaide will host Melbourne at Adelaide Oval in the opening match of Round 17 of the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

The Thursday night game at Adelaide Oval will commence at 7:10pm ASCT (7:40pm AEST) on July 8.

Ticketing information for this match will be communicated shortly with the game to be broadcast live on the Seven Network nationally and via Foxtel and Kayo.

02:15

Embarrassed hero: 400 club welcomes its newest member

The members of the 400 club welcome Hawthorn and Port Adelaide champion Shaun Burgoyne into their prestigious group

Published on Jul 2, 2021

AFL Executive General Manager Clubs and Broadcasting Travis Auld said it was great to be able to lock in the opening of another great round of football.

"We are pleased to be able to confirm Port Adelaide will host Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night and look forward to witnessing two top-four teams kick off Round 17 in what should be a great contest," Mr Auld said.
 
"We sincerely thank everyone in the game for their understanding and patience with the fixture as we progress the Toyota AFL Premiership Season in a constantly changing environment.

"The health and safety of everyone in the AFL and in the wider community remains paramount and the league will continue to work closely with respective State Governments, all AFL Clubs and other key stakeholders before finalising next round’s fixture."
 
The full fixture for Round 17 is set to be announced in the coming days.