The AFL has released the fixture for the 2025 AFL Premiership Season, confirming the Cats will host 10 games at GMHBA Stadium for the first time since 1996.

The Cats will take on a strong mix of opponents who are set to make their way down the highway, including reigning Premier Brisbane, Port Adelaide, Essendon and Richmond.

Geelong’s first home game will see the Cats host Fremantle in Round 1 at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday 15 March at 1.20pm, which is set to be Jake Kolodjashnij’s 200th AFL game.

Of its other games at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong will play games across a strong of a mix of days and time slots, providing all members and fans the best chance to see their team live.

This includes a Thursday night clash against the Western Bulldogs in Sir Doug Nicholls Round, two Friday night games against Melbourne and Brisbane, and family-friendly timing for games against GWS Giants on a Sunday afternoon at 3.20pm and against the Gold Coast Suns in a Saturday twilight fixture.

In a great outcome for Melbourne-based Geelong fans, the Cats will play seven games in Melbourne, with five matches at the MCG, including hosting the traditional Easter Monday clash against Hawthorn in Round 6 followed by blockbusters against Carlton and Collingwood the following two weeks.

In 2024, the Club drew a record Cats home crowd of 87,775 for its game against the Blues at the MCG, with Geelong’s game against the Magpies at the same venue drawing 73,435 people.

The Cats will play twice at Marvel Stadium, with games against St Kilda (Round 2) and North Melbourne Kangaroos (Round 20).

Geelong Cats Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Marcus King welcomed today’s Fixture release.

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All Geelong Adventures | 2025 AFL Fixture Release

Watch on as we touch on our 2025 AFL Fixture, and our 10 GMHBA Home Games!

“We are thrilled with the opportunities our 2025 AFL Fixture presents from a football, fan, and commercial perspective and we can’t wait to kick-off the season in just 112 days’ time,” King said.

“From a football point of view, we are delighted to have a strong mix of teams both travelling down to Geelong and (in) our blockbuster fixtures up in Melbourne and interstate. We have a great spread and opponent mix throughout the season.

“A big focus as a Club was to play 10 home games at GMHBA Stadium in 2025 and to secure this is an amazing result – it will be the first time since 1996 that this has happened.

“Each Geelong match drives a direct economic impact to the Geelong region of approximately 5-7 million dollars per game played, so it is a really significant outcome to both the Club and the region to have the extra game at GMHBA Stadium in 2025.

“We again thank the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, City of Greater Geelong and the State Government for their investment in GMHBA Stadium and which enables the region to attract marquee games in Geelong with 40,000 stadium capacity.”

With a mix of family-friendly and primetime TV slots, the Cats will play nine games broadcasted on free-to-air television (Channel 7) in the first 16 rounds.

As announced earlier this week, Geelong will open the 2025 AFL Premiership Season, taking on the Lions at The Gabba in a blockbuster Thursday night clash in Opening Round. It will be a re-match of the 2024 Preliminary Final, a match that saw more than 93,000 people pack out the ’G.

Geelong will travel interstate six times in 2025, including their Opening Round (Brisbane) and Gather Round (Adelaide) clashes, with trips to Western Australia (Round 12 v West Coast Eagles), another visit to South Australia (Round 10 v Port Adelaide), and two clashes in New South Wales (Round 18 v GWS, Round 23 v Sydney), with four of these trips to occur in the Cats’ first 12 games.

Geelong plays Brisbane, Port Adelaide, GWS Giants, Essendon, St Kilda and Richmond twice, while the Club’s two byes will be in Round 3 and Round 16.

Geelong Cats 2025 AFL Fixture Snapshot

  • First game of the 2025 Premiership Season – Opening Round clash against the Lions Thursday 6 March.
  • 10 home games at GMHBA Stadium, starting with Fremantle in Round 1 on Saturday 15 March.
  • Seven games in Melbourne, including five at the MCG against Hawthorn, Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon and Richmond.
  • Thursday night clash to kick off Gather Round against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Thursday 10 April.
  • Six interstate trips: Brisbane (Opening Round), Adelaide (Round 5), Port Adelaide (Round 10), West Coast Eagles (Round 12), GWS Giants (Round 18) and Sydney (Round 23)
  • Sir Doug Nicholls Round matches against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval and Western Bulldogs at GMHBA Stadium, the latter a Thursday night match.
  • Three Thursday night games and two Friday night games in opening 16 rounds.

Milestones to watch out for in 2025

  • Patrick Dangerfield (337 games) is set to reach 350 AFL games, and is 17 games away from 200 Club games.
  • Mitch Duncan (296 games) is set to reach 300 AFL games, only the sixth Cat to reach that milestone.
  • Cameron Guthrie (240 games) is set to reach 250 AFL games.
  • Jake Kolodjashnij (198 games) is set to reach 200 AFL games.
  • Jack Henry (143 games), Gryan Miers (131 games) and Tom Atkins (127 games) are all in line to reach 150 AFL games.
  • Chris Scott (334 games) is set to reach 350 AFL games coached.