Nor will the Tigers play Collingwood twice with only Essendon of the traditional blockbuster teams playing a return bout against Richmond. The AFL will unveil the 2014 fixture on October 31 having already revealed it will break a number of traditions by again opening the season one week earlier, starting with the weekend beginning Friday March 14 - grand prix weekend in Melbourne.

Round one will be spread over two weeks with the MCG not available due to cricket commitments until the third week of the season. The Richmond-Carlton game will be played on Thursday, March 27. Last year more than 80,000 saw the Tigers narrowly defeat the Blues.

The Blues are expected to play their season-opener against Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on March 16 - the day of the Melbourne Grand Prix - with the Tigers likely to travel to Metricon Stadium to play the Gold Coast.

The season has been brought forward to accommodate two byes following a strong push from the players and also to launch the season earlier in the northern states to combat the NRL's earlier start.

While the AFL puts the finishing touches to the fixture in consultation with the Seven Network and Fox Footy, it has briefed all 18 clubs over its determination to equalise the home-and-away competition by dividing the teams into groups of six.