Football: From a football point of view, the best news is just one return game against a finalist, the cross-town Sydney Swans in the yet-to-be-named NSW derby. Of the other seven finalists from last year, the Giants meet three at home and four away. The Giants will have five six-day breaks in 2012 and play two games at the MCG. They will also take part in the historic first AFL game at Blundstone Arena in Hobart against North Melbourne in round 2.

Business: The Giants will be all over the place - literally in 2012. They play at 12 different venues and will have four home grounds - ANZ Stadium for the season opener, Blacktown International Sportspark in round 3, Manuka Oval for three games and finally, their permanent home at Skoda Stadium (formerly the Showgrounds) at Homebush, which will be unveiled with a blockbuster opening against coach Kevin Sheedy's former club Essendon. Collingwood will also visit Skoda Stadium this year.

Big game: The first game will be historic, a standalone clash with the Sydney Swans on Saturday March 24 at ANZ Stadium, a week before the other 16 clubs start their season.

To download a pdf version of the 2012 fixture, click here.
RDDATEOPPONENTVENUEH/A LOCAL TIME
1Saturday, March 24 Sydney SwansANZ StadiumHome7:20pm
2Sunday, April 8 North MelbourneBlundstone ArenaAway1:10pm
3Sunday, April 15 West Coast EaglesBlacktown International Sportspark SydneyHome1:10pm
4Saturday, April 21 Adelaide CrowsAAMI StadiumAway4:10pm
5Saturday, April 28 Western BulldogsManuka OvalHome2:10pm
6Sunday, May 6 CarltonEtihad StadiumAway1:10pm
7Saturday, May 12 Gold Coast SUNSManuka OvalHome1:40pm
8Sunday, May 20 Brisbane LionsGabbaAway1:10pm
9Saturday, May 26 EssendonSkoda StadiumHome7:40pm
10Saturday, June 2 Geelong CatsSimonds StadiumAway1:45pm
11Bye    
12Saturday, June 16 RichmondSkoda StadiumHome2:10pm
13Sunday, June 24 MelbourneMCGAway3:15pm
14Saturday, June 30 Sydney SwansANZ StadiumAway7:40pm
15Sunday, July 8 HawthornMCGAway1:10pm
16Sunday, July 15 Adelaide CrowsSkoda StadiumHome1:10pm
17Sunday, July 22 FremantlePatersons StadiumAway2:40pm
18Saturday, July 28 CollingwoodSkoda StadiumHome4:40pm
19Saturday, August 4 Port AdelaideSkoda StadiumHome2:10pm
20Saturday, August 11 Gold Coast SUNSMetricon StadiumAway4:40pm
21Saturday, August 18 MelbourneManuka OvalHome2:10pm
22Saturday, August 25 St. KildaEtihad StadiumAway1:45pm
23TBCNorth MelbourneSkoda StadiumHomeTBC


The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs