North Melbourne Kangaroos to play two AFL home games at Optus Stadium, Bunbury against West Coast, Fremantle

Bunbury is set to host a historic AFL game next season, with North Melbourne finalising a deal to host games against West Coast and Freomantle in WA.

A landmark deal will see the Kangaroos play two home games a year in WA, including one set to be in the state’s South West, for the next three seasons.

The State Government, the AFL and the Victorian club are set to sign an agreement for the Roos to sell two home games, delivering financial relief for the club and fixture relief for West Coast and Fremantle.

The Alastair Clarkson-coached North Melbourne will travel to WA in the middle of next season, stay for two weeks, and play two games.

They will ‘host’ West Coast and Fremantle, with one game to be played at Optus Stadium, the other set to be in WA’s South West at Bunbury’s Hands Oval.

The West Australian has been told plans are in place to up the capacity of the venue to around 15,000 after just over 4000 attended this year’s South West Football League grand final.

It is also understood the AFL has been to visit the venue twice and broadcaster Foxtel have also done a site visit.

The key to the deal is that it ties in with WA tourism, promoting direct flights from Melbourne to Busselton, with Kangaroos fans likely to make the trip west.

The West Australian understands West Coast are set to feature in the Bunbury fixture, with the Dockers to play in the Optus Stadium game.

The Bunbury clash will mark the first time an AFL home-and-away game has been played outside of the inner Perth suburbs. Optus Stadium, Subiaco Oval and the WACA Ground are the only three venues to have hosted matches for premiership points in the state.

Early planning is underway for temporary seating to be added around the northern end of Hands Oval, but the northern end could be left grassed.

The game at Optus will see North earn around $1.2 million dollars, with the State Government’s contribution for the South West game set to lift the club’s purse over the $2 million mark.

The deal will be signed for three seasons, locking in six games and more than $6 million for North.

It will give the Eagles and Dockers an extra game in their home state and result in one less week of travel, following the two WA clubs undergoing an additional round trip over the past two years due to the introduction of Gather Round in South Australia.

Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick has been fighting for fixture equity in recent months, with the help of Eagles boss Don Pyke.

It is the most significant development for WA teams in regards to the fixture since the Dockers entered the AFL.

Bunbury’s Hands Oval has just had the finishing touches put on a $17.5 million redevelopment to build a completely new grandstand on top of what was previously the outdated South West Football League headquarters.

The completion of coaches boxes and a media centre is around a month away.

The venue has previously hosted two pre-season matches, both Dockers home games, against Carlton in 2009 and Western Bulldogs in 2011.

The 2009 clash with the Blues drew a ground-record crowd of 10,000. It has also twice hosted Western Australia’s one-day team.

Optus Stadium chief executive Mike McKenna previously said the venue would welcome an added fixture, despite not being directly involved in talks.

“We would love to host it,” McKenna said.

“North Melbourne has a great fanbase here in WA, whenever they play against the local team they play a big crowd.

“Should they play a local team here, we would give them a great time.”

While the WA Government would not confirm the reports on Tuesday, a spokesperson told The West: “Our government’s event strategy is clearly working, with $286 million generated for our economy through major, regional and mass participation events in 2023-24.

“We’re always on the lookout for events that will drive visitation, support our local economy and showcase Western Australia,” they said.

It is understood the Kangaroos would reduce their number of games at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval as part of the deal. The Roos have played four matches at the venue in each of the past three seasons, but will likely scale back their presence in the area ahead of Tasmania’s team joining the AFL in 2028.

North Melbourne have won three of their past five games in WA, including beating the Eagles by nine points in their most recent visit in June and scoring a one-point upset over Fremantle in the Dockers’ home opener last year.