The Demons play their opening four rounds at the ‘G, against Port Adelaide (round one), Essendon (round two), West Coast Eagles (round three) and Greater Western Sydney (round four). Of those four matches, only the clash against the Bombers is an away game.
The red and blue’s first match away from the home of football is against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in round five.
Melbourne’s only other match away from the MCG in the first 15 rounds is at Patersons Stadium against Fremantle in round nine. The Demons also have a bye in round 12.
But the Demons will play at the MCG just once in their final eight rounds of the season - against Fremantle in round 21.
Melbourne’s two other ‘home’ matches from round 16 are at TIO Stadium against the Brisbane Lions in round 17 and at Etihad Stadium against North Melbourne in round 18.
Melbourne chief executive Cameron Schwab said: “This a good fixture for Melbourne people. The Club starts the year with 12 of its first 14 games at our home, the MCG. The run of MCG games builds into two marquee games against Hawthorn and our Traditional Queen’s Birthday clash against Collingwood.”
“Also pleasing for our interstate members is that the Club plays a spread of games across every major state and territory in the country, except the ACT and Tasmania, which hasn’t been the case in previous years.
“The fixture does however present some commercial challenges for the Club, with six of our home games at the MCG being against interstate clubs. Playing a home game against North Melbourne at Etihad isn’t ideal for our members and it is our stated, clear preference not to play home games at Etihad Stadium.
“Playing in Darwin for the fourth consecutive year enables us to build on our commitment to the Top End. We see the region as a second home for the Club and we will continue to work with the AFL and Northern Territory Government to ensure these relationships grows into the future. We also look forward to our nine-day pre-season camp in December and continuing our active community relationships in the Top End.
“Overall, the Melbourne Football Club recognises we need to earn the right for a stronger commercial fixture by improved on-field performance.”
The Demons will play each 2012 finalist just once next season - except Fremantle - and they will play this year’s non-finalists Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast, GWS and Western Bulldogs twice.
In terms of timeslots, Melbourne will play 14 day games, three twilight matches and four at night. The Demons will play five Saturday afternoon matches - the most for one particular timeslot. And the Dees haven’t drawn a Friday night game.
Melbourne will play matches in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia next year. It will also venture down the highway to Simonds Stadium, taking on Geelong Cats in round 16.
Fox will show 13 Melbourne matches and Seven will telecast eight matches. The round 23 clash against Western Bulldogs remains a floating fixture.
Melbourne 2013 fixture
Round 1 - Sunday, March 31
Melbourne v Port Adelaide
MCG, 1.10pm, Home
Round 2 - Saturday, April 6
Essendon v Melbourne
MCG, 7.40pm, Away
Round 3 - Saturday, April 13
Melbourne v West Coast Eagles
MCG, 2.10pm, Home
Round 4 - Sunday, April 21
Melbourne v GWS Giants
MCG, 1.10pm, Home
Round 5 - Sunday, April 28
Brisbane Lions v Melbourne
Gabba, 3.15pm, Away
Round 6 - Sunday, May 5
Carlton v Melbourne
MCG, 3.15pm, Away
Round 7 - Sunday, May 12
Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns
MCG, 4.40pm, Home
Round 8 - Sunday, May 19
Richmond v Melbourne
MCG, 3.15pm, Away
Round 9 - Sunday, May 26
Fremantle v Melbourne
Patersons Stadium, 2.40pm, Away
Round 10 - Sunday, June 2
Melbourne v Hawthorn
MCG, 3.15pm, Home
Round 11 - Monday, June 10
Melbourne v Collingwood
MCG, 3.15pm, Home
Round 12 - Bye
Round 13 - Saturday, June 22
St Kilda v Melbourne
MCG, 4.40pm, Away
Round 14 - Saturday, June 29
Melbourne v Western Bulldogs
MCG, 7.40pm, Home
Round 15 - Sunday, July 7
Melbourne v Sydney Swans
MCG, 1.10pm, Home
Round 16 - Saturday, July 13
Geelong Cats v Melbourne
Simonds Stadium, 2.10pm, Away
Round 17 - Saturday, July 20
Melbourne v Brisbane Lions
TIO Stadium, 7.10pm, Home
Round 18 - Saturday, July 27
Melbourne v North Melbourne
Etihad Stadium, 2.10pm, Home
Round 19 - Saturday, August 3
GWS Giants v Melbourne
Skoda Stadium, 1.45pm, Away
Round 20 - Saturday, August 10
Gold Coast Suns v Melbourne
Metricon Stadium, 7.40pm, Away
Round 21 - Sunday, August 18
Melbourne v Fremantle
MCG, 1.10pm, Home
Round 22 - Saturday, August 24
Adelaide Crows v Melbourne
AAMI Stadium, 1.15pm, Away
Round 23 - TBC
Western Bulldogs v Melbourne
Etihad Stadium, TBC, Away
