MELBOURNE will take on the Brisbane Lions in the first round of the 2012 NAB Cup - only five weeks ahead of taking on the same opponents in the first round of the regular season.

The AFL released the draw for the 2012 NAB Cup on Wednesday, with the Demons to lock horns with the Lions and Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday February 25.

Melbourne also takes on the Lions in round one of the home and away season, at the MCG on March 31.

The opening round of the NAB Cup will feature a series of triple-headers, with the Demons, Lions and Suns meeting in the second part of the first round.

The NAB Cup will open at Etihad Stadium on Friday February 17, with Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Richmond to meet each other.

A day later, the first official game for the AFL's newest team in 2012 will be against the League's most storied - and popular - club.

The opening weekend of the revamped pre-season competition will feature a match-up between Greater Western Sydney and Collingwood, to be played at the Giants' home base at Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday, February 18.

The Giants and the Magpies will be joined by the Western Bulldogs on what will be a big night on the coaching front with Kevin Sheedy leading the fledgling Greater Western Sydney outfit for the first time, while Nathan Buckley will be making his debut as Collingwood coach, as will Brendan McCartney with the Western Bulldogs.

The Magpies are the defending NAB Cup premiers, beating Essendon by 22 points in last year's Grand Final.

On the Sunday after the Giants-Pies-Bulldogs triple-header, Essendon will travel to Perth to meet both West Coast and Fremantle.

The second part of the opening round features Geelong, St Kilda and the Sydney Swans on the Friday night (February 24) at Etihad Stadium; Gold Coast, the Brisbane Lions and Melbourne on the Saturday night and will finish the following afternoon with Port Adelaide, Adelaide and Carlton at AAMI Stadium.

As part of the new-look competition, the NAB Regional Challenge disappears and the matches over the following fortnight - to be staged at both regular AFL venues and select regional centres, will also count in the NAB Cup standings. Unlike the opening round-robin matches, again to be played over two 20-minute halves, all matches in the second and third rounds will be full-scale, four-quarter affairs.

The regional centres to feature games include Wangaratta (Essendon-St Kilda, March 3), Castle Hill (Sydney Swans-North Melbourne, March 3), Mandurah (West Coast-Port Adelaide, March 3), Alice Springs (Adelaide-Brisbane Lions, March 3), Albury (Greater Western Sydney-Gold Coast, March 10), Victor Harbour (Port Adelaide-Fremantle, March 10) and North Ballarat (North Melbourne-Western Bulldogs, March 11).

All matches will count equally with four points for a win and percentage also being taken into account. The two best-performed teams over the three rounds (two shortened and two full games) will play off in the NAB Cup Grand Final on March 17.

The 16 clubs who don't make the Grand Final will play one last NAB Cup match at various metropolitan locations across Australia on the weekend of March 16-18, a fortnight before most clubs will start their 2012 home and away seasons.

All first round NAB Cup matches will be televised exclusively live by Fox Sports, while 11 matches over the next two weeks will be also shown exclusively on Fox Sports. The Grand Final will be shown live on Seven and Fox Sports as part of the League's new broadcasting agreement.

In addition, one match per round will be broadcast on Telstra T-Box services, while all matches shown by Fox Sports will be broadcast on Telstra mobile.

AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan said the new format allowed clubs to be more advanced with their planning for next season because they know several months in advance - rather than a few days as was the case in recent years - what their pre-season travel arrangements will be.

"Clubs can fully plan their preparation and training workload as they build up to the start of the premiership season. In rounds two and three, we will mix matches across both regional venues and our major AFL venues, so that we continue to promote our game into areas that don't normally host AFL football," McLachlan said.

"The introduction of our shortened games for the 2011 NAB Cup was a great success, with strong attendances for the three matches at each of our six venues, coupled with above-average viewer numbers across television.
 
"The shortened format enables clubs to use their senior players as they see fit for the opening to the season, as well as offering the flexibility to provide opportunities for new players and rookies that is such a key feature of the NAB Cup.

NAB's General Manager of Brand & Sponsorship, Kevin Ramsdale, said NAB was delighted that the NAB Cup would again extend to reach many Australian communities.

"The great thing about the NAB Cup is that it allows us to take the AFL to thousands of people around the country who don't often get a chance to experience footy at this level. I know our employees and customers in regional towns such as Wangaratta, Mandurah and North Ballarat will be pleased to see the game heading their way," Ramsdale said.