Hawthorn Football Club welcomes today’s release of the fixture for the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. 

To kick off the season Hawthorn will take on Essendon under Saturday night lights in Round 1 at Marvel Stadium. 

The fixture delivers some real highlights for Hawthorn members and fans, particularly in Victoria and Tasmania. Highlights of the 2021 fixture include big home match-ups against Richmond (R2), Melbourne, Essendon and Collingwood at the MCG. The Hawks match against Collingwood will also be the club’s third annual BankVic Emergency Services and Frontline Workers Match. 

Hawthorn’s Chief Commercial Officer Ash Klein acknowledged the certainty the fixture release brings to the club and most importantly its members and supporters. 

“2020 has been a year of incredible uncertainty, to now have confidence around the fixture for next season is just great news to close out the year,” said Klein. 

“It was tough playing away from home, and being away from our Victorian and Tasmanian members and fans in 2020. To have our first six matches locked in the diary in addition to the news of crowds returning in Melbourne is really exciting.

“Overall we’re really happy with the 2021 fixture, we made a number of key requests to the AFL for this season and the fixture has delivered on nearly all of them. Most pleasingly, the fixture presents plenty of opportunity for Hawthorn members and fans to get back to doing what they love - attending big home game blockbusters at the ‘G.

“While we did not receive our request to forgo a home game at Marvel stadium in 2021, we know that this fixture required give and take across the competition and overall the fixture is a real win for Hawthorn members."

Watch the footy in style with one of our match day hospitality packages: View our functions and suites available at MCG and UTAS Stadium for season 2021 here.

Season 2021 will see the Hawks play in Darwin for the first time. Taking on Gold Coast in Sir Doug Nicholls Round the club-first promises to be a special occasion. 

“Sir Doug Nicholls Round is a match we look forward to each year. To play the match in Darwin is a really special addition to next season's fixture and a match we are already looking forward to, particularly given our long-standing partnership with the Big Rivers region,” said Klein.

Klein said the club is also delighted the Hawks will play in Tasmania on ANZAC Day in 2021. 

“Our first match in Tassie is one to really look forward to. The family-friendly Sunday afternoon time slot presents a fantastic opportunity for our Tasmanian members and fans to spend the afternoon together and pay their respects on such an important day,” said Klein. 

“We have been given a strong fixture at UTAS Stadium in 2021, including a match against North Melbourne. Our games against North tend to be pretty fierce contests, add to that stands filled with Tasmanian Hawks and North supporters, it’s sure to be a match not to be missed.

“Having only made it to Tasmania for one pre-season match this year we are more excited than ever to get back to playing on our home turf in Launceston and to get back to our Tasmanian supporters.”

With the first six matches of the 2021 season locked in the Hawks will play their first three games in Melbourne against Essendon (A), Richmond (H), Geelong (A), before heading to Optus Stadium to take on Fremantle, returning to Melbourne to take on Melbourne at home in R5 at the MCG then on to Launceston to take on Adelaide in Round 6 on ANZAC Day. Every Hawks’ game will be broadcast live on Fox Footy and AFL Live Pass. Three of the Hawks first six matches will also be broadcast free-to-air on Channel 7.