Nick Blakey's break-up with Sydney dominated headlines in the past two months before his move to the Kangaroos. May 8 is locked in for the former cult hero's first clash with the Swans, at the SCG in round eight.
Zach Merrett tackles Essendon, the club he once captained, at the MCG on April 3. Hawthorn's other gun recruit, former Gold Coast star Ben King, will wait until April 22 for his first game against the Suns.
May 1, when Geelong travel to western Sydney for Toby Greene's first showdown with GWS, will be another eagerly anticipated date no matter which club you support.
Likewise Collingwood's trip to Gold Coast on June 26, when Scott Pendlebury plays his first game against the Magpies after 442 games in the black and white. And the Magpies' match against Brisbane at the Gabba on March 25, when the reception afforded to Lachie Neale will be a major talking point.
FINALS FOES
Few things put fire in a footballer's belly like confronting the side that ended your season. Especially if it ended in the fashion Fremantle's did.
The Dockers host Brisbane in an Optus Stadium blockbuster on May 9.
Sydney, who suffered their own gutting last-gasp loss in a home preliminary final against Fremantle, won't tackle Justin Longmuir's side until the final round of the season.
This year's other preliminary final opponents, Brisbane and Hawthorn, will square off at the MCG on March 19 in what looms as the obvious highlight of round one.
WHAT ELSE?
* "Opening round'' has been shut down. The short-lived experiment of a staggered start to the season, in which a handful of games were staged in the northern states, is over. Instead, all 18 clubs will be in action in round one, which runs Wednesday to Sunday (March 17-21).
* It's pretty easy to tell who the broadcasters rate and hate. Of the 16 rounds mapped out so far, St Kilda don't have a single match on a Thursday or Friday night. The other end of the extreme is Sydney, who have nine games in the showpiece timeslot.
* Rounds 17 to 24 are "floating''. Dates and times for those games will be confirmed mid-season, reducing the risk of meaningless, mediocre games falling on a Friday night.
* Sunday night football is seemingly here to stay. It's now a regular slot in the fixture throughout the first 13 rounds, meaning fans can take in three consecutive games on Sundays.
* Five-day breaks are the bugbear of every coach. Adelaide, Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs have fared worst in this metric - they each have two of the tight turnarounds.
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