GOLD Coast is set to kick off round eight with a Thursday night primetime slot, and Essendon will travel to South Australia to play Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Carlton and Hawthorn will play each other the following round in Perth.

ROUNDS 7-8 Check out the full fixture

The AFL on Monday evening released the round eight fixture of the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season with St Kilda now set to play consecutive matches in South Australia.

Last year's Grand Final teams, GWS and Richmond, have the Friday night slot, while 2018 grand finalists, West Coast and Collingwood, will be playing each other on Sunday July 25 at Optus Stadium.

For the second consecutive week, there will be a Monday night fixture – Fremantle to host Geelong on July 27, following the round seven Monday match-up of Adelaide-St Kilda on July 20.

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Matches in round eight will be played in Perth, Adelaide, south-east Queensland and Sydney.

While details are yet to be confirmed, Essendon and St Kilda, currently based in south-east Queensland hubs, are likely to fly in and straight out of Adelaide for their round eight matches.

As part of its round eight fixture release, the AFL said Carlton and Hawthorn would travel to Perth immediately after round eight matches, respectively against North Melbourne and Sydney.

AFL general manager broadcasting Travis Auld said matches beyond round eight would potentially be played on all days of the week.

"As we set ourselves for the next few weeks, our upcoming block of matches post round nine will potentially feature non-traditional timeslots as we look to possibly compress some additional games into the fixture," Auld said.

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With metropolitan Melbourne in lockdown due to a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AFL sent its 10 Victorian clubs to hubs in south-east Queensland, Perth and Sydney.

The AFL has been negotiating with TV broadcast rights holders Channel Seven and Foxtel about the possibility of matches on all days of the week while the Victorian clubs are away, in order to "stockpile" matches before a seemingly inevitable bye period when teams return to Melbourne.

ROUND EIGHT

Thursday, July 23

Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs, Metricon Stadium, FOX, 7.40pm AEST

Friday, July 24

GWS v Richmond, Giants Stadium, SEVEN, 7.50pm AEST

Saturday, July 25

North Melbourne v Carlton, the Gabba, FOX, 1.05pm AEST

Sydney v Hawthorn, SCG, FOX, 3.35pm AEST

Port Adelaide v St Kilda, Adelaide Oval, SEVEN, 7.10pm ACST, 7.40pm AEST

Sunday, July 26

Adelaide v Essendon, Adelaide Oval, FOX, 12.35pm ACST, 1.05pm AEST

West Coast v Collingwood, Optus Stadium, SEVEN, 1.35pm AWST, 3.35pm AEST

Melbourne v Brisbane, Metricon Stadium, FOX, 6.10pm AEST

Monday, July 27

Fremantle v Geelong, Optus Stadium, FOX, 6.10pm AWST, 8.10pm AEST