North Melbourne will take home AFL games to Western Australia until at least the end of 2027 as its long-time affiliation with Tasmania draws to a close and the club eyes a stable financial future.
The Kangaroos announced Wednesday it had inked a three-year deal to play two home and away games in the state per season, beginning 2025. These games will be played against Fremantle and West Coast and be staged at Optus Stadium in Perth and Hands Oval in Bunbury, respectively.
Next season will also mark the final year of the North Melbourne-Tasmania partnership. North Melbourne will play two games in Tasmania in 2025 (down from four this year), before those games return to Melbourne in 2026.
"This is a great outcome for the club in that we are able to bring two games back to our Melbourne heartland supporters while securing our financial future," said North Melbourne CEO Jennifer Watt. "The club began planning for our post-Tasmania future once Tasmania was granted an AFL licence. Having explored a number of options, this three-year agreement stood alone in delivering multiple benefits to the club, our members and supporters.
"North Melbourne will always be our forever home, and enhancing our facilities and expanding our footprint within the Arden Precinct will always be at the heart of our long-term strategy.
"From a financial perspective, this opportunity in Western Australia will go a long way to ensuring we can continue to do that alongside fully funded football departments. Underpinning the club's finances also enables us to refocus and invest in talent identification and fan development in our next generation academies.
"We are a club with a long, proud history of challenging the status quo and we see this opportunity as another significant moment in our history."
For next season, North Melbourne will play West Coast in Bunbury in Round 13 on Sunday, June 8 and Fremantle at Optus Stadium in Round 14 on Saturday, June 14.