Fremantle will play five of their eight AFL Women’s home and away clashes in Perth, with the AFL confirming the 2020 fixture on Tuesday.

Freo will play all four of their home games at Fremantle Oval, beginning with a round one fixture against 2019 preliminary finalists Geelong and an ‘away’ derby against West Coast in round two at Optus Stadium.

The AFLW competition has been expanded to eight games and a three-week finals series in 2020, compared to seven games and two weeks of finals in 2019.

As well as the Geelong clash, Fremantle will play home games at Fremantle Oval against Collingwood in round three, Brisbane in round five and Melbourne in round seven.

Apart from the derby, all of Fremantle’s away games will be played in Melbourne, starting in round four against St Kilda at RSEA Park in round four, followed by the Western Bulldogs in round six at VU Whitten Oval and Carlton in round eight at Marvel Stadium.

Fremantle have been drawn in Conference B alongside Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Carlton, Collingwood, St Kilda and West Coast.

It will be the first time any Fremantle team has played at RSEA Park, formerly Moorabbin Oval, and the first time Fremantle’s AFLW team has played at Marvel Stadium.

Fremantle’s AFLW manager Darryn Fry said the club was looking forward to preparing for what will be a big 2020 season.

“We’re really excited with Monday’s announcement of the collective bargaining agreement approval, which allows us to move forward and focus on our pre-season preparations,” Fry said.

“Fremantle’s AFLW team was in full support and engaged with the AFL Players’ Association throughout the process and the girls are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

“From a conference point of view, we’re really pleased with the engagement from the AFL with clubs, taking into account the 2019 ladder, player movement through the 2019 sign and trade period and list strengths.”

Fry said Freo would look for a repeat of 2019, where they were unbeaten at Fremantle Oval.

“Fremantle Oval is our heartland and it’s where our girls really love to play,” Fry said.

“We’ve had great attendances there, strong buy-in from the community and our key stakeholders, the City of Fremantle, the South Fremantle Football Club and the WA Football Commission.

“Internal staff at the club do a great job in making our AFLW home games engaging with our wonderful fans. Once again in 2020, we will look to create a strong community event.

“In addition, we’re really looking forward to the derby in round two at Optus Stadium. We’ve seen the rivalry grow between the men over the past 25 years and we hope that tradition and rivalry continues in the AFLW.”

Fry highlighted that no game would be easy.

“To be able to be the best, you have to beat the best teams in the competition. We saw the evenness of the competition in 2019, with many games feeling like a ‘mini-final’ so we look forward to each contest knowing that every game will present a challenge,” Fry said.

“We can’t wait to get started with our pre-season and really excited that we’re now ready to go for season 2020.”

FREMANTLE’S 2020 AFLW FIXTURE

ROUND ONE

Fremantle v Geelong

Fremantle Oval

Sunday, 9 February at 2.10pm

ROUND TWO

West Coast v Fremantle

Optus Stadium

Saturday, 15 February at 4.10pm

ROUND THREE

Fremantle v Collingwood

Fremantle Oval

Saturday, 22 February at 4.10pm

ROUND FOUR

St Kilda v Fremantle

RSEA Park

Sunday, 1 March at 3.10pm

ROUND FIVE

Fremantle v Brisbane

Fremantle Oval

Sunday, 8 March at 2.10pm

ROUND SIX

Western Bulldogs v Fremantle

VU Whitten Oval

Sunday, 15 March at 1.10pm

ROUND SEVEN

Fremantle v Melbourne

Fremantle Oval

Sunday, 22 March at 1.10pm

ROUND EIGHT

Fremantle v Carlton

Marvel Stadium

Saturday, 28 March at 1.10pm