The until recently unthinkable prospect of Sam Mitchell shaping up in a home-and-away clash against Hawthorn will become a reality at the MCG in round five in 2017 when the Hawks take on Mitchell's new club West Coast.
And the Hawks clash with Jordan Lewis' Melbourne two weeks later in round seven also at the MCG. The club's seven home game stranglehold enjoyed at football's traditional home in 2016 has been reduced to six next season with the AFL scheduling the Hawks to play a home game at Etihad Stadium.
That Docklands home clash is expected to fall in the final round of the season against reigning premiers Western Bulldogs, whom the Hawks play only once.
Alastair Clarkson's team will double up next year against Sydney, Geelong, Collingwood, Gold Coast and Adelaide, who it will first play in round two at the MCG.
In a strange scheduling move which has perplexed the Kangaroos and left some Tasmanian football aficionados, disenchanted Hawthorn will host North Melbourne in one of the club's four Launceston home games at Aurora Stadium. The move has been analysed as a further push by the AFL to cement North as Tasmania's preferred club, but the view from that state has traditionally opposed the two clubs playing each other given the already fierce rivalry between the north and south. North's five-year agreement with Tasmania has the club playing three games a year in Hobart.
Hawthorn have also suffered in terms of Friday night football after hosting six of the prime time fixtures in 2016. Next season that number has been at least halved with the Hawks hosting just one Friday night home game which falls at the MCG against the Swans. Sydney will in turn host its fierce rival on a Friday night at the SCG.
The Friday night lights will, however, shine on Greater Western Sydney with the Giants to be handed their debut in the coveted timeslot.
Last year's preliminary finalists have forced the AFL's hand after a ratings boom in the fledgling club's fifth season which was easily its most-watched campaign to date, up almost 37 per cent from 2015.
Almost 6.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the Giants' 22 regular-season games in 2016 at an average of 304,409 per match.
And the two finals games, a six-goal win over cross-town rivals Sydney and the heartbreaking loss to eventual premiers the Western Bulldogs, were watched by a combined 3,865,000 people across the country. That loss to the Bulldogs was the second-most viewed game of all time outside of an AFL decider, bested only by the 2007 preliminary final between Collingwood and Geelong.
GWS blossomed into the AFL's entertainers in 2016 en route to their 16-win season and a maiden finals finish. That tag is set to remain next year with the addition of Richmond star Brett Deledio to the half forward line, a month after triple premiership player Steve Johnson announced he would play on for another season.
In other fixture news, Gold Coast and Port Adelaide will square off in Shanghai on May 14 next year in the first match for premiership points in China.
The round eight match will be played at 1.20pm local time (3.20pm in Melbourne) at Jiangwan Stadium, the venue that hosted an exhibition match between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions in 2010.
The stadium is used as a golf driving range and will hold about 15,000 spectators after it is reconfigured from its rectangular shape.
