NORTH Melbourne will kick off its new three-game-a-season contract extension in Hobart next year with the blockbuster it craved.

The Roos have landed a boom encounter with Richmond – spearheaded by home-grown star Jack Riewoldt – in round six, as well as a return bout with St Kilda and Jack’s cousin Nick in round 20. It will also be another chance for up-and-coming Roos star Ben Brown to play in front of his home crowd in the blue and white.

North will also play West Coast (round 10) in a mouth-watering opening to its recently signed two-year deal at Blundstone Arena, which will have a capacity nearing 20,000 once the $32 million redevelopment is completed.

FOO FIGHTERS TO SHAKE DEC

The Tigers hold the record for the biggest AFL crowd in Tasmania, with 20,971 fans flocking to Aurora Stadium to watch the clash against Hawthorn in 2006. The 14,113 who attended North’s contest against the Eagles in 2012 is the highest attendance in Hobart.

Richmond won nine straight matches to storm into the this year’s finals before running out of gas against preliminary finalists Port Adelaide, while the Roos also reached the last four after defeating Essendon and Geelong before crashing to Sydney.

North had requested a clash with either the Tigers or Geelong in its first Hobart match next year but landing two all-Victorian matches is a huge bonus, especially considering Hawthorn was only given one, against the Western Bulldogs, in 2015.

Read more in tomorrow’s Mercury

See the full AFL fixture in our live blog tomorrow from 9.30am

HAWKS NAB PIE FIGHT AT AURORA