The West Coast Eagles will play a number of marquee matches at Optus Stadium against clubs expected to figure prominently in the quest for the 2022 premiership.

That was the major take-away from the AFL fixture release today, giving West Coast Eagles members the opportunity to see leading contenders in action at home when the venue should be heaving with devoted fans.

While times and dates have been released for just the first nine rounds, the Eagles will play 2021 grand finalists Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, as well as Richmond, Sydney, Geelong and Essendon in Perth. That comes on top of the usual fixture of two RAC Derby clashes with Fremantle.

Two of those games – against Sydney in round five and Richmond in round seven – are Friday night games where Optus Stadium will be on show in all of its glory.

The Eagles will host the first of the matches against their cross-town rival in round three on Sunday, April 3 at 4.20pm.

The club has also been fixture to play two matches at the MCG, against Richmond (round 16) and Hawthorn (round 18). Times and dates have not yet been locked away for those games.

The club will play a further two away matches in Melbourne, against North Melbourne (Round 2, Sunday, March 27) and Collingwood (round 4, Saturday, April 9) at Marvel Stadium.

Other venues for away matches will see the Eagles play two games at Adelaide Oval, a return bout against season opening opponents Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium, Giants Stadium, the ‘Gabba and the final match of the season is against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium.

West Coast Eagles Chief Executive Trevor Nisbett said the club was pleased to be playing against some of clubs that should figure prominently in 2022.

“It will be a great opportunity for our club to test itself against others that should be strong contenders,” Mr Nisbett said. “Playing so many of those teams at Optus Stadium, including two Friday night games, should hold strong appeal for our members and we look forward to seeing the venue full of blue and gold.

“On balance it is a good fixture for us, although obviously in the current environment the AFL cannot lock away dates and times for matches beyond round nine.

“We host the first derby in round three and also play Fremantle in the penultimate game of the season which means three of our last five games are at Optus Stadium.”

“We are eagerly awaiting the year ahead and we hope all of our members and supporters are looking forward to watching some exciting games at our Stadium.”