Two games in one day! The WA footy first in 2026’s fixture as Fremantle & West Coast play in different cities

It happens in Victoria just about every weekend. It’s taken place in South Australia with Gather Round, and it’s occurred in NSW and Queensland on multiple occasions. But the phenomenon of two AFL games in the same state on the same day has never hit WA - until now. Next year will feature a Western Australian first, with both Fremantle and West Coast to take to the field for separate home-state games on June 6. The Dockers will take to Hands Oval for the first time, with a clash against North Melbourne scheduled for the second year of the Kangaroos’ WA travel deal in round 13. That match will begin at 12.15pm, and just hours later, West Coast will take to the field in Perth for a 6.15pm fixture at Optus Stadium against Port Adelaide. The 12.15pm start for the Bunbury clash will mark the earliest bouncedown time for a game in WA since both Freo and West Coast had a series of 12.10pm starts in the 2001 season. The Eagles and Dockers have previously played games on the same day as one another in the same state, but never in WA. The COVID-impacted 2020 campaign saw the clubs play a string of matches in Queensland on the same day, including a Saturday where they both featured at the same Gold Coast venue, six hours apart. Both WA clubs featured on the same day in South Australia at last year’s Gather Round, with Fremantle starting their clash at Adelaide Oval immediately after the final siren of West Coast’s game at Mount Barker.